Tom Thibodeau Rumors | Hoops Rumors

Wolves GM Milt Newton Not Assured Of Job

April 13th, 2016 at 9:00pm CST by Chuck Myron

9:00pm: Grizzlies coach Dave Joerger is among the candidates the Wolves will consider, Brian Windhorst of ESPN.com tweets. The ESPN scribe also notes that Mitchell won’t be among the coaches considered for the post. Team owner Glen Taylor has hired the search firm Korn Ferry to help in the hunt for a new coach as well as a new president of basketball operations, though the team may elect to hire one person for both slots, Jon Krawczynski of The Associated Press relays.

A chance exists that the team will circle back to Mitchell, but it appears to be a long shot, as Krawczynski details. Minnesota’s plans also throw into question the future of Newton, as the new president of basketball operations would decide whether to retain him, Krawczynski writes. Wojnarowski wrote earlier that it was unclear whether Newton would remain atop the basketball operations department, but Newton isn’t initially a candidate for the president of basketball operations job, according to Krawczynski. It’s possible the next coach and president of basketball operations will be the same person, as Taylor is intrigued with the success the Pistons have had under coach/executive Stan Van Gundy, Wojnarowski hears.

3:07pm: The Timberwolves coaching search will include Mitchell as part of candidate process, Adrian Wojnarowski of The Vertical relays (on Twitter). Minnesota’s current coaching short-list includes Jeff Van Gundy, Tom Thibodeau and Scott Brooks, Wojnarowski adds.

1:37pm: The growing belief around the NBA coaching community is that the Timberwolves will elect not to retain coach Sam Mitchell, reports Marc Stein of ESPN.com (Twitter links). The Wolves only assured Mitchell of the head coaching position through this season when he took over for the late Flip Saunders this fall, and Mitchell’s contract doesn’t cover next season, Stein notes (on Twitter). Andrew Wiggins, Karl-Anthony Towns and Shabazz Muhammad have endorsed Mitchell’s return in the past few days, as Darren Wolfson of 1500 ESPN Twin Cities (Twitter link) and Jon Krawczynski of The Associated Press have noted, but it appears that might not be enough to save the coach’s job.

Minnesota is just 28-53 this season under Mitchell, but it’s a significant improvement on last season’s 16-66 record, and not much was expected from the youthful roster despite the presence of Wiggins and Towns, the last two No. 1 overall picks. The team has shown promise, particularly in a win at Golden State earlier this month, and Towns has swept the league’s Rookie of the Month honors thus far. Mitchell was to have continued serving as an assistant coach this season but took the head coaching reigns in September while Saunders suffered complications from cancer treatment. Saunders died in October, a few days before opening night.

“We’ve done a great job this year, especially the coaching staff,” Towns said this week, as Krawczynski relays. “With the tragedy happening, I think they did a great job for us this year.”

Veteran leader Kevin Garnett made it known earlier this season that Mitchell has his support after speculation to the contrary, but it’s unclear whether Garnett, who turns 40 next month, will return to play next season. Timberwolves owner Glen Taylor will make the call on whether to retain Mitchell, Taylor said, though he added that he’ll solicit the input of GM Milt Newton. Taylor said last month that Newton would keep his job through the summer, at least.

Western Notes: Bickerstaff, Prince, Carlisle

April 13th, 2016 at 7:31pm CST by Eddie Scarito

If the Rockets are able to clinch a playoff berth this evening, it would greatly enhance the chances of interim coach J.B. Bickerstaff earning the post on a full-time basis, Marc Stein of ESPN.com relays in a series of tweets. Houston does have interest in Scott Brooks and Tom Thibodeau, who are likely to be two of the more sought-after coaches this offseason, Stein adds. The Rockets are intrigued by the discipline and structure that Thibodeau could bring, but Brooks, who played for the Rockets, has an excellent familiarity with James Harden from their time spent together with the Thunder, Stein notes.

Here’s more from out West:

Wolves small forward Tayshaun Prince intends to play next season, telling reporters, “I’m not going to retire,” Kyle Ratke of NBA.com tweets. The 36-year-old, who is set to become an unrestricted free agent, appeared in 77 games and averaged 2.9 points and 1.9 rebounds in 19.0 minutes per outing for Minnesota on the season.
Rick Carlisle, who is in his eighth season as Mavericks coach, has given the organization an uncommon stability during his tenure, Colin McGowan of RealGM writes. Carlisle deserves credit for making the most out of the talent he has been afforded, and the organization also deserves praise for sticking with the coach despite a few rocky seasons, McGowan adds.
Brandan Wright was limited to just 12 games for the Grizzlies this season, which likely diminishes his value as a potential trade chip and increases the likelihood Wright will be on Memphis’ roster next season, opines Chris Herrington of The Commercial Appeal. The big man inked a three-year, $18MM with the Grizzlies last summer.
The Pelicans will finish the 2015/16 campaign with 351 games missed due to injury and illness, the most in the NBA in the past six years, Justin Verrier of ESPN.com relays (Twitter link).

And-Ones: Felder, Thibodeau, Neal

April 9th, 2016 at 10:47pm CST by ChrisCrouse

Kay Felder has decided to hire Mike Silverman and Brandon Grier of the Athlete Management Group and remain in the draft, tweets Shams Charania of The Vertical. The junior out of Oakland is the 47th best prospect, according to ESPN’s Chad Ford. Jonathan Givony of Draft Express ranks him as the 70th best prospect.

Here’s more from around the league:

Hornets coach Steve Clifford believes Tom Thibodeau will return to the league next season, Ian Begley of ESPN.com tweets. “I know he misses [it],” Clifford said.
Gary Neal is on track to start resuming basketball activities in June after undergoing surgery this week to repair a torn hip labrum suffered in December while he was a member of the Wizards, Marc Stein of ESPN.com relays (ESPN Now link). Neal, 31, was waived by Washington in March in order to clear a roster spot for the signing of Marcus Thornton. The point guard played well for the Wizards prior to his injury, knocking down 41.0% of his 3-point attempts as he averaged 9.8 points in 20.2 minutes per game across 40 appearances.
JaKarr Sampson has played well since signing with the Nuggets and he is focusing on improving in different areas of his game, writes Christopher Dempsey of The Denver Post. “My first year in the league I was just focused on defense,” Sampson said. “Now, my offensive side is coming out and I’m making progress. It’s showing.”

Eddie Scarito contributed to this post.

Eastern Notes: Knicks, Batum, Hoiberg

April 5th, 2016 at 9:29am CST by Chuck Myron

The Knicks increasingly sense that Warriors assistant coach Luke Walton won’t leave Golden State for a head coaching job this summer, according to Marc Berman of the New York Post. Knicks team president Phil Jackson is in contact with Bulls executive VP of basketball operations John Paxson, who used to play for the Zen Master, and Jackson isn’t impressed with Tom Thibodeau, who worked for Paxson as Bulls coach, Berman writes. The Post scribe also implies Jackson isn’t about to go out of his way to hire former Nuggets coach Brian Shaw, leaving few options other than interim coach Kurt Rambis, whom Berman hears is closer with Jackson than just about any coach is with his boss and allows Jackson the level of input he’s longed for. However, Knicks players don’t respect Rambis as much as they did former coach Derek Fisher, sources indicated to Berman.

While we wait to see just who gets the job in New York, see more from the Atlantic Division:

Assistant coach Jim Cleamons, a former NBA point guard, was allowed only limited contact with rookie point guard Jerian Grant while Fisher was coach, but those restrictions have been lifted since Rambis took over, Berman reports in the same piece.
An NBA GM told The Oregonian’s John Canzano he thinks Nicolas Batum will be able to command salaries of $15MM to $17MM in free agency this summer (Twitter link). That’s well beneath the roughly $25MM maximum salary, though Zach Lowe of ESPN.com wrote in January that the Hornets swingman was likely to draw max offers. Batum is No. 9 in the Hoops Rumors Free Agent Power Rankings.
Bulls coach Fred Hoiberg has drawn criticism for his inability to reach players, but, perhaps buoyed by Taj Gibson‘s support, Hoiberg insists the locker room is united, notes K.C. Johnson of the Chicago Tribune. “You have to have that continuity in the locker room, that unity,” Hoiberg said. “You have to look like you’re getting your message across. And I think we’ve done that with the guys. I can just base it on how our film sessions are going and how when they’re on the [practice] floor, they’re locked in. I feel like we have good chemistry with our staff and players.”

Knicks Notes: Anthony, Grant, Rambis, Jackson

March 31st, 2016 at 8:14pm CST by Arthur Hill

Carmelo Anthony and two other Knicks starters have volunteered to give up some minutes in favor of younger players, writes Al Iannazzone of Newsday. Anthony convinced point guard Jose Calderon and center Robin Lopez to join him in the effort, and interim coach Kurt Rambis agreed it’s a good idea. Beneficiaries should include rookie Jerian Grant and second-year player Langston Galloway, along with veteran reserves Derrick Williams, Kevin Seraphin and Kyle O’Quinn. “I still would like to be out there playing and competing,” Anthony said, “but at this point if we can build guys like Jerian and Langston and [Williams] and [O’Quinn], and just give those guys that opportunity they wouldn’t have had or haven’t had in the past, I think it’s good for them. I think it’s good for the morale of the team, I think it’s good for their confidence.”

There’s more tonight from New York:

Rambis offered encouraging words for Grant, a first-round pick who is largely considered a disappointment, relays Marc Berman of The New York Post. Grant has averaged 4.8 points and 2.2 assists in 70 games, all as a backup. “He’s getting better,’’ Rambis said. “He has tremendous speed. We’re encouraging him to use speed and quickness at point guard, [but he] still has to be concerned with organizing of the offense. That’s where he falls short.”
The players’ confidence in Rambis and overall team morale are on the decline, according to Stefan Bondy of The New York Daily News. The displeasure in the locker room bubbled over this week when Arron Afflalo went public with complaints about being demoted to a reserve role. Bondy said the ill feelings stem from team president Phil Jackson’s decision to fire Derek Fisher in the middle of the season and replace him with an interim coach who needs to win right away to keep his job.
Jackson set a poor example this week by taking a vacation to Woodstock so close to the end of the season, charges Frank Isola of The New York Daily News. Isola also warns of an upcoming showdown over the coaching situation, with Jackson wanting to keep Rambis and owner James Dolan preferring an outsider such as Tom Thibodeau, David Blatt, Mark Jackson or Scott Brooks. The columnist suggests Dolan should require that Jackson commit to two more seasons in New York before letting him hire Rambis.

Knicks Notes: Afflalo, Calderon, Thibodeau

March 25th, 2016 at 8:34pm CST by Eddie Scarito

The Knicks’ decision to shift shooting guard Arron Afflalo to a reserve role was not a punitive one, according to interim coach Kurt Rambis, Marc Berman of The New York Post relays. “This is not a punishment,” Rambis said of Afflalo’s demotion. “It’s more his natural position. All players want to start — I get that. I’m sure he’d rather be starting.” The team could be sending the veteran a message that if he chooses to exercise his player option for 2016/17, he will continue to come off the bench, Berman notes. The scribe also speculates that the team could be trying to reduce Afflalo’s market value as a free agent, thus making it easier to re-sign him.

Here’s more from New York:

The Knicks are thinking about using the stretch provision to part ways with Jose Calderon this summer, and the chances of that occurring would be greatly increased if Tony Wroten shows promise in summer league play as he makes his way back from ACL surgery, Berman notes in the same piece. Waiving Calderon would allow the team to open approximately $5MM in extra cap space for this summer.
Rookie Jerian Grant has replaced Langston Galloway as the first playmaker off the bench and has been working hard in practice to improve upon his woeful 19.7% shooting from three-point range, Berman adds. “[Grant] has been working on the shot all year,” Rambis said. “He knew it was something he had to work on to keep defenses honest. Hand placement. His balance. Just for younger players to learn to shoot from the NBA 3-point line. It’s different than college. He’s working hard on it. He knows it’s part of the game he has to get better.” The Post scribe also relays that the Knicks now view Galloway strictly as a shooting guard and believe that their efforts to convert him into a point guard have failed.
A number of Tom Thibodeau‘s former players on the Bulls have noted the coach’s affinity for New York, and while they stopped short of saying the Knicks are his preferred destination, their comments seem to indicate that he would jump at the chance to coach the team, Stefan Bondy of The New York Daily News writes. “That’s all we talked about is the New York atmosphere and how he’s had tough-minded New York teams,” Taj Gibson told Bondy. “And that’s something we talked about all the time and that’s what we tried to incorporate the last couple of years. All-around, he’s a good guy. Almost every day we talked about his time in New York. We talked about them battles the Knicks used to have. Just talk about Knicks stuff in general. He loves New York. He always had high praise talking about the Knicks.”

And-Ones: Marks, Thibodeau, D-League

March 2nd, 2016 at 10:20pm CST by Eddie Scarito

The Nets received a glowing endorsement regarding new GM Sean Marks from New York Yankees GM Brian Cashman, Brian Lewis of The New York Post writes. “It’s an easy call to make when it’s about Sean Marks,’’ Cashman told Lewis. “We developed a good relationship. … Sean Marks was clearly a graduate of Pop [Spurs coach Gregg Popovich] University, a disciple. What an asset, an asset the Nets were smart enough to acquire.’’

“I recently spent two days in San Antonio, me and our mental coach Chad Bohling,” Cashman continued. “We were with Pop, [GM] R.C. Buford, Sean Marks, their performance-science analytics team. We had a chance to watch shootaround, watch the game, and Sean was someone I spent a lot of time with, developed a relationship. He’s an extremely impressive individual. I walked out of there thinking this individual will be a success. I’d want him on my team. He’s an extremely intelligent, compassionate leader. You could tell there was something special there, and shortly thereafter there were the Nets knocking on his door. There were probably going to be more knocks.”

Here’s more from around the league:

The Timberwolves still have one open roster spot after inking Greg Smith to a 10-day pact earlier today and interim coach Sam Mitchell said the team will look to bring in a player with NBA experience who would attend training camp this fall, Andy Greder of The Pioneer Press tweets.
At the request of coach George Karl, the Kings have brought in former Bulls coach Tom Thibodeau as a defensive consultant, James Ham of CSNBayArea.com relays (via Twitter). Thibodeau is expected to work with the players over the next few days, Ham adds. Sacramento is ranked dead last in points allowed, surrendering an average of 109.6 per contest.
The Raptors have recalled Bruno Caboclo and Norman Powell from their D-League affiliate, the team announced.
The Hawks have assigned center Edy Tavares to the D-League, the team announced via press release. Tavares will report to the Bakersfield Jam, the Suns’ affiliate, pursuant to the NBA’s flexible assignment rule, since Atlanta does not have its own D-League affiliate.

Nets Likely To Part Ways With Andrea Bargnani

February 16th, 2016 at 6:59am CST by Chuck Myron

TUESDAY, 6:59am: Colangelo and Rosas are still in the race for the GM job, Wojnarowski clarifies (on Twitter).

MONDAY, 11:24am: Andrea Bargnani is among the players almost certain to work a buyout with their respective teams if they’re not traded by Thursday’s 2pm Central deadline, reports Adrian Wojnarowski of The Vertical on Yahoo Sports. It’s not surprising to see David Lee and J.J. Hickson as the other names on Wojnarowski’s short list of buyout candidates, since Bleacher Report’s Howard Beck reported earlier this month that the Celtics intended to either trade Lee or do a buyout, while the Nuggets have apparently been shopping Hickson. Bargnani is in the first season of a two-year deal for the minimum salary that includes a player option for next season and is averaging only 13.8 minutes per game, by far the fewest of his 10-year NBA career.

Still, it’s difficult to gauge just what the Nets will do with their personnel, since they’re in the midst of hiring a new GM. Nuggets assistant GM Arturas Karnisovas and Spurs assistant GM Sean Marks continue to talk with the team as it moves toward second interviews this week, league sources told Wojnarowski. The general consensus around the NBA as of Friday held that former Raptors and Suns GM Bryan Colangelo would ultimately emerge with the gig, as Beck reported then, though Colangelo and Rockets executive VP of basketball operations Gersson Rosas aren’t necessarily out of the running, Wojnarowski indicates. Chris Broussard of ESPN on Thursday identified Colangelo, Karnisovas and Marks as the front-runners for the job that’s been vacant since the Nets removed Billy King from the position last month.

Regardless of whom the Nets choose as GM, he’ll be only one part of a committee that will hire the team’s next coach, Wojnarowski also writes. Various reports have indicated that some combination of team chairman Dmitry Razumov, board member Sergey Kushchenko, CEO Brett Yormark and owner Mikhail Prokhorov’s holding company president Irina Pavlova comprise the committee in charge of the GM search. The new GM will join that group in its efforts to find a coach, according to Wojnarowski. The Nets hope to draw from a pool of coaching candidates that includes NBA head coaching veterans Jeff Van Gundy and Tom Thibodeau and Spurs assistant Ettore Messina. Mike Mazzeo and Marc Stein reported last month that Brooklyn had strong interest in Thibodeau, and Stein later identified Messina as a candidate, but this appears to be the first legitimate link between the Nets and Van Gundy.

Whomever ends up coaching the Nets likely won’t have Bargnani, unless the team speeds through the process. March 1st represents the de facto buyout deadline, since it’s the last day any player can hit waivers and still be eligible to play for another NBA team in the postseason.

Bulls Notes: Front Office, Gasol, Mirotic

February 12th, 2016 at 2:30pm CST by Chuck Myron

All indications are Bulls owner Jerry Reinsdorf remains confident in the front office duo of GM Gar Forman and executive VP of basketball operations John Paxson, writes Nick Friedell of ESPNChicago.com, who calls for them to make changes to the roster with the deadline less than a week away. Forman has reportedly signaled that he’s concerned about his future, but it’s instead the immediate situation in Chicago that has others worried.

“We got to find ourselves,” Bulls coach Fred Hoiberg said, according to Friedell. “I challenged them, whatever they got to do over the [All-Star] break, look themselves in the mirror, find a way to get committed to this team where we can come out and go on a run. And that’s all we can do right now is look forward. It’s been a bad, bad stretch of basketball. Hopefully we’ll get healthy and move forward.”

Hoiberg’s job is in no danger, Friedell confirms, advocating instead for the Bulls to deal away Pau Gasol. Two executives recently told K.C. Johnson of the Chicago Tribune that they don’t think the Bulls are done testing the trade market for Gasol in spite of injuries to Joakim Noah and Nikola Mirotic. See more from Chicago, where the Bulls are in seventh place and just a game up on the ninth-place Pistons:

Mirotic will remain out for weeks, not days, as he continues to recover from a follow-up procedure to an appendectomy, tweets K.C. Johnson of the Chicago Tribune. The power forward had been targeting a return after the All-Star break.
The front office set a destructive tone when it undermined coach Tom Thibodeau last season, and it shows in the way the Bulls have responded on the court this season, contends Joe Cowley of the Chicago Sun-Times. Forman and Paxson told players last season that they didn’t have to buy in to Thibodeau’s coaching because the team planned to move on from him at season’s end, according to Cowley.
However, the negative effect Thibodeau had on the work environment in Chicago and the coach’s questionable substitution patterns are some of the reasons why it’s not as if his continued presence would have prevented the team’s problems this year, contends Teddy Greenstein of the Chicago Tribune. The Timberwolves are the latest team to emerge with apparent interest in the ex-Bulls coach.

Timberwolves Speak With Tom Thibodeau

February 11th, 2016 at 8:58am CST by Chuck Myron

Some “cursory contact” has taken place between the Timberwolves and former Bulls coach Tom Thibodeau, sources tell Brian Windhorst, who made his report in an appearance on ESPN Radio’s “Mike & Mike” show (video link). Wolves owner Glen Taylor told interim Wolves coach Sam Mitchell that he would have this season to work with and that he would evaluate him after that, as Jon Krawczynski of The Associated Press said to Hoops Rumors in a recent edition of The Beat, so the team faces a decision about its coaching future this spring. Thibodeau has apparently long wanted the Knicks coaching job, and while that appears unlikely, he’s reportedly of interest to the Lakers and Nets and is linked to just about every coaching vacancy that arises.

Nearly half the Wolves roster has expressed concern about Mitchell’s job performance, Krawczynski reported late last month, though he picked up the endorsement of team leader Kevin Garnett. The Timberwolves won their 17th game of the season Wednesday with an upset of the Raptors, surpassing the 16 they won all of last season, but they still have the league’s fifth-worst record. That sets up Minnesota for another high first-round pick, making the job all the more attractive, as Windhorst discusses.

It doesn’t appear as though talks have become serious at all, though Thibodeau is anxious to return to coaching, Sam Smith of Bulls.com wrote recently, adding that he believes the former Coach of the Year would want personnel control. GM Milt Newton, like Mitchell, has no assurances beyond this season. The 58-year-old Thibodeau went 255-139 in the regular season and 23-28 in the playoffs with Chicago, which fired him this past spring.

Which team would be the best fit for Thibs? Leave a comment to share your thoughts.