Tyronn Lue Rumors | Hoops Rumors

Cavs Notes: Anthony, Smith, Dunleavy, D-League

September 28th, 2016 at 7:00pm CST by Arthur Hill

Knicks star Carmelo Anthony is hoping his friend J.R. Smith can work out his contract situation in time to receive his championship ring on opening night, relays Marc Berman of The New York Post. New York will be the opponent when Cleveland starts its season October 25th, but Smith’s presence is far from guaranteed. The veteran shooting guard has been in a contract impasse with the Cavaliers all summer, reportedly wanting a $15MM annual salary, while the team wants something in the $10MM to $12MM range. Word broke this week of an “aggressive” offer by the Cavs, but the situation remains unresolved. “I don’t know what’s going on over there with that,” Anthony said. “I hope they don’t prolong the situation. He helped them win that championship. He was a major part of that team, and I hope they can get something done. If not, we’ll see him somewhere else.’’

There’s more news out of Cleveland:

After being with four other teams in his 14 NBA seasons, Mike Dunleavy is overjoyed to wind up with the Cavaliers, writes Sam Amico of AmicoHoops. Cleveland acquired Dunleavy in a deal with the Bulls when Chicago was trying to clear cap space to sign Dwyane Wade. The veteran swingman described the trade as “Christmas in July.” The Cavs plan to use him as a shooter to stretch the floor alongside LeBron James, and in combination with Richard Jefferson and Channing Frye to have three tall shooters on the floor at the same time. “I see myself being involved in whatever way, shape or form we need,” Dunleavy said. “It’s as simple as that. I can play a lot of different roles, anything necessary to get these guys back to the mountain top. Basically, Coach [Tyronn] Lue can use me however he wants. I’m just happy to be here.”
James can expect to see reduced minutes this season, as well as Kyrie Irving and Kevin Love, according to Jason Lloyd of The Akron Beacon Journal. After two consecutive seasons that stretched into late June, the Cavaliers will be emphasizing rest. Measures will include monitoring players’ energy levels and staying longer in cities after road games. “My thing is just making sure guys are healthy, continue to limit LeBron’s minutes … watch Kyrie’s minutes because we know we’re playing for something big,” Lue said. “We know when we get to the playoffs it’s going to require a lot of minutes so with those guys and with Kevin [Love], just have to watch guys getting to the red zone.”
Nate Reinking was named coach of the Cavaliers’ D-League affiliate in Canton, according to D-League Digest (Twitter link). He has been an assistant with the team since 2013.

And-Ones: Dalembert, S. Jackson, Larkin

September 13th, 2016 at 1:52pm CST by Luke Adams

Longtime NBA center Samuel Dalembert is facing battery charges for allegedly pushing his girlfriend and then choking her cousin when he tried to intervene, according to an Associated Press report (link via ESPN.com). Dalembert, whose last NBA action came with the Knicks in 2014/15, played in China last season, so it’s not clear whether he’s still hoping for an NBA comeback — if he is, his arrest likely reduced his chances of returning.

Here are a few more odds and ends from around the league:

Stephen Jackson continues to seek an NBA job, and tells Rodger Bohn of SlamOnline.com that he isn’t interested in heading overseas or playing in the D-League. “NBA or nothing, man,” Jackson said. “I don’t need the money. I just want to give back to the game. Anything else is a step down, so I just want to give the NBA a shot.”
Former first-round pick Shane Larkin, who spoke to HoopsHype last month about his decision to opt out of his Nets contract and sign in Spain, discussed the move overseas with Alex Kennedy of Basketball Insiders. Larkin stressed that he’s excited about the opportunity to play for Baskonia, pointing to the impressive list of NBA players who have played for the team in the past.
As Kurt Helin of Pro Basketball Talk passes along, Cavaliers head coach Tyronn Lue told TMZ that his old NBA Finals nemesis Allen Iverson would be welcome to “come coach with me” if Iverson has interest in pursuing a coaching career.

Cavs, Tyronn Lue Agree To Five-Year Extension

July 26th, 2016 at 12:22pm CST by Dana Gauruder

JULY 26: The Cavaliers have officially issued a press release announcing Lue’s new deal.

“Ty took over our team under very trying circumstances and his calm, confident approach was invaluable as we found our way to success,” GM David Griffin said in a statement. “His vision, leadership and tactical acumen were fundamental to us reaching our goals. We couldn’t be happier to have Ty continue to lead our group into the future.”

JULY 25: Cavaliers head coach Tyronn Lue has agreed to a five-year, $35MM extension, league sources informed Adrian Wojnarowski of The Vertical.

Lue was named head coach after David Blatt was fired on January 22nd. Cleveland went 27-14 the rest of the regular season under Lue’s guidance, then made history by winning its first championship. Lue was instrumental in keeping the team focused after it trailed the Warriors 3-1 in the Finals, then made its historic comeback to claim the title.

Lue had been Blatt’s associate head coach since the summer of 2014, when Blatt got the head job over him.

Lue became the league’s top-paid assistant at that time with a four-year deal worth $6.5MM. After he was named head coach, the Cavs and Lue’s representatives came to a verbal agreement on a renegotiated deal that would have paid him $3MM prorated for last season and $3MM this season, with a team option for a third year at $3.5MM with a buyout.

However, Lue reportedly didn’t sign that deal and there were no performance standards or stipulations that would have kept the verbal agreement valid after the season.

Cavs Notes: LeBron, J.R. Smith, J. Jones, Lue

July 18th, 2016 at 3:27pm CST by Luke Adams

The Cavaliers have agreed to terms on deals for Chris Andersen and Richard Jefferson so far this month, but have yet to officially finalize those signings. In addition to needing to complete the Andersen and Jefferson moves, the Cavs have several other items on their to-do list, starting with locking up the reigning NBA Finals MVP. Brian Windhorst of ESPN.com has some updates on Cleveland’s offseason, so let’s round up the highlights…

After publicly announcing in June that he would be re-signing with the Cavaliers this summer, LeBron James has privately informed the team of the same thing. However, he is currently traveling and spending time with his family and has no timetable for negotiating or signing a deal, sources tell Windhorst. LeBron has multiple options for his contract, depending on what sort of years and dollars he wants, and he’ll go over those options with agent Rich Paul at some point, but there’s no rush, per Windhorst.
J.R. Smith and the Cavaliers have been negotiating a new deal, but remain “apart on terms,” according to Windhorst. We heard earlier today that Smith may be seeking an annual salary worth upward of $15MM.
The Cavaliers have had discussions with veteran free agent James Jones. According to agent Joel Bell, Jones wants to re-sign with the Cavs, but has other options.
Like many of the Cavaliers’ free agent players, head coach Tyronn Lue has been in talks with the team for a few weeks about a new deal, but has yet to reach an agreement. Lue remains under contract for two more years, but he’s still on his assistant coach deal, having declined to work out a new agreement when he first took over for David Blatt earlier this year — so he’ll be in line for a significant raise.

Cavaliers Notes: Smith, McRae, Felder, Liggins

July 16th, 2016 at 11:01am CST by Arthur Hill

GM David Griffin isn’t concerned about the possibility of losing J.R. Smith, writes Sam Amico of Amicohoops. There reportedly has been little interest outside of Cleveland in the 30-year-old free agent shooting guard, who started 77 games during the regular season and was an important contributor to the Cavaliers’ championship run. “These things sometimes take time,” Griffin said. “When the time is right, something will get done. I’m very confident about that.” The team has remained in contact with with Smith, tweets Chris Haynes of Cleveland.com, who adds that Smith’s situation is not related to LeBron James‘ contract talks. Haynes says James is “no rush” to wrap up his new deal.

There’s more this morning out of Cleveland:

Summer League players Jordan McRae, Kay Felder and DeAndre Liggins will be in Cleveland’s training camp and all three have a chance to make the roster, according to Terry Pluto of The Plain Dealer. McRae, a 6’6″ point guard, appeared in 15 games for the Cavs this season and made an impression with a 35-point performance in the finale. Felder is a 5’9″ point guard whom the Cavaliers drafted 54th overall last month after buying the pick from Atlanta. His 9.3 assists per game were the most in Division I basketball this year, and he reminds observers of Celtics All-Star Isaiah Thomas. Liggins, a 6’6″ swingman, was the D-League’s Defensive Player of the Year and can hit from 3-point range.
Another name to watch is Turkish small forward Cedi Osman, whose rights were acquired from Minnesota in a 2015 draft day deal involving Tyus Jones, Pluto writes in the same story. The Cavs are keeping a close eye on Osman, who told reporters he wants to come to the NBA in 2017/18.
Cleveland isn’t in a position to make a big move to counter Golden State’s signing of Kevin Durant, according to Jason Lloyd of The Akron Beacon Journal. The defending champs are out of cap space, have few realistic trade options and a mostly set roster for next season. They are also facing another massive luxury tax bill with the contracts they already have in place. Cavaliers coach Tyronn Lue, who defended Durant’s decision, said Cleveland improved with the addition of Mike Dunleavy Jr., who was acquired in a trade with Chicago. “More depth, more shooting, a guy who can come off screens and pindowns and play off movement, getting to the basket and making the right pass,” Lue said about what Dunleavy brings to the team.

Coaching Notes: Lue, Jones, Walton, Kings

July 9th, 2016 at 9:05pm CST by Arthur Hill

A delay in working out an extension with Tyronn Lue has several Cavaliers assistants working in the summer league without contracts, according to Chris Haynes of Cleveland.com. The deals for Jim Boylan, Phil Handy, James Posey and Vitaly Potapenko expired July 1st. Lue, who has promised they will all be kept on his staff, is negotiating an extension after winning an NBA title in his first season as a head coach. He is still under a four-year, $6.5MM contract that he had as an assistant after refusing a three-year, $9.5MM offer when he replaced David Blatt in midseason. Lue has a year left on his current deal and said he isn’t worried about the status of the extension. “It’ll eventually get done,” he said.

There’s more coaching news around the league:

The Cavaliers are expected to make Damon Jones an assistant coach, Haynes writes in the same piece. Jones will replace Bret Brielmaier, who recently joined the Nets‘ staff.
After a two-month wait while the Warriors made their way through the playoffs, former Golden State assistant Luke Walton finally got to coach the Lakers, writes Scott Howard-Cooper of NBA.com. Walton made his debut Friday night in the Las Vegas Summer League and received a rousing ovation from Lakers fans in attendance. “I know I still have a lot to learn, but I think everybody does, no matter how long you’ve been doing any job,” Walton said. “I’m excited and I feel like I’m ready for this and I’m looking forward to it.”
The Lakers did not keep player development coach Thomas Scott, tweets Mark Medina of The Los Angeles Daily News. Scott is expected to pursue other opportunities.
The Kings have added Bob Thornton and Larry Lewis as assistants to new head coach Dave Joerger, tweets Sean Cunningham of KXTV in Sacramento.

And-Ones: Nets, Crabbe, Lue, Waiters, Sixers

July 2nd, 2016 at 1:05am CST by Luke Adams

The Rockets, who offered a four-year contract worth about the same amount as his deal with the Hawks, were “really, really close” to reaching an agreement with Kent Bazemore, reports Jonathan Feigen of The Houston Chronicle (Twitter link). While that may be somewhat encouraging for Houston, the Rockets have yet to lock up one of their top free agent targets. Heading into the weekend, the club remains in the hunt for Al Horford and Ryan Anderson.

Here are a few more odds and ends from around the NBA:

The Nets spent plenty of time on Friday weighing whether or not to sign Trail Blazers RFA Allen Crabbe to an offer sheet, sources tell Marc Stein of ESPN.com (Twitter link). The Nets are big fans of Crabbe, but an offer sheet could tie up the team’s cap for three days after the moratorium ends, which could backfire if Portland matches it. The Blazers are probably less likely to match a big offer for Crabbe now that they have an agreement with Evan Turner, but it’s still not out of the question.
The Cavaliers and head coach Tyronn Lue have begun discussing a contract extension, per Chris Haynes and Joe Vardon of Cleveland.com. As the duo explains, Lue didn’t sign a new deal when he was promoted from his assistant role to replace David Blatt this year, and the gamble paid off. Lue will be in line for a much bigger raise now that he has a championship under his belt than he would have been if he’d signed a new contract earlier this year.
The Bulls are among the teams showing interest in Dion Waiters, tweets ESPN’s Chris Broussard. Broussard also reiterates something we’ve heard multiple times over the past couple days, writing that the Kings are very interested in Waiters and will meet with him this weekend.
The Sixers have been making some significant offers to veteran free agents in the hopes of landing one or two of them, says Alex Kennedy of Basketball Insiders (Twitter link). Philadelphia struck a deal on Friday with Jerryd Bayless, but it sounds like the team has made other offers that exceed Bayless’ $9MM per year.

Central Notes: James, Wiggins, McMillan, Pistons

June 11th, 2016 at 8:48pm CST by Arthur Hill

LeBron James is falling in the NBA Finals with the Cavaliers team that he built, writes Dave Hyde of The Sun-Sentinel. It was James’ decision to leave Miami for Cleveland two years ago because he saw a franchise with younger talent, Hyde notes, and he pushed for the deal that sent Andrew Wiggins to Minnesota for Kevin Love. James also approved the trade with New York that brought J.R. Smith and supported the hiring of Tyronn Lue, who had no previous experience as a head coach. Cavs managment has given James everything he wanted since his return, Hyde writes, saying it shows the danger of letting a player make too many personnel decisions.

There’s more from the Central Division:

James’ desire to have Love as a teammate instead of Wiggins shaped the Cavaliers‘ destiny, contends Shaun Powell of NBA.com. Wiggins’ defensive prowess would have been much more valuable against the Warriors, Powell argues, noting that he is also capable of creating offense with his dribble, in contrast to Love, who has settled into a role as a 3-point shooter since he arrived in Cleveland. Wiggins also could have eased the Cavaliers’ financial burden with a rookie contract instead of the maximum deal that Love got last summer.
The Cavs’ bench has been letting them down in the finals, points out Marc Berman of The New York Post. Channing Frye, who was acquired in a February deal with the Magic, only has two points in the series. Iman Shumpert has been held to 11. Love came off the bench to score 11 in Game 4, but the rest of the reserves combined for just four points. Berman says depth will need to be the focus of Cleveland’s offseason moves.
New Pacers coach Nate McMillan will keep Dan Burke and Popeye Jones as part of his staff, tweets Scott Agness of Vigilant Sports. Agness says McMillan seems to have decided on a third assistant, but no announcement has been made.
The Pistons may concentrate on power forwards with the 18th pick in the draft, writes David Mayo of MLive. Detroit traded that pick to Houston for Donatas Motiejunas in a February deal that was later rescinded, so it’s clear that Pistons management recognizes the need for help at the four spot. Mayo lists Michigan State’s Deyonta Davis, Gonzaga’s Domantas Sabonis, Marquette’s Henry Ellenson and Kansas’ Perry Ellis as four possibilities.

Central Notes: Bucks, Lue, Bulls, Pistons

June 1st, 2016 at 1:36pm CST by Luke Adams

It’s a busy Wednesday for the Bucks, who are hosting seven prospects for workouts in Milwaukee, according to the team’s website. Utah big man Jakob Poeltl is getting a close look from the team in an individual workout, while the other six prospects are participating in a group workout. Those players are Jameel McKay (Iowa State), Alex Poythress (Kentucky), Wayne Selden (Kansas), Angel Rodriguez (Miami), Andrew Andrews (Washington), and Ryan Arcidiacono (Villanova).

Here’s more from out of the Central division, including a couple more pre-draft workout updates:

In an interesting piece at Cleveland.com, Chris Haynes details a phone call that took place between Tyronn Lue and Cavaliers general manager David Griffin earlier this year, when Lue tried to convince Griffin that David Blatt shouldn’t be fired. However, the GM had already up his mind, and by the end of the call, Lue had agreed to become Cleveland’s new head coach. Now, Lue is preparing his team for the NBA Finals, while Blatt has signed a two-year contract to coach a team in Turkey.
Florida State guard Malik Beasley is scheduled to visit the Bulls on June 8th and 9th, according to Alex Kennedy of Basketball Insiders (Twitter link). Chicago currently holds the 14th and 48th overall picks in this year’s draft.
Within his latest mailbag, David Mayo of MLive.com explains why he doesn’t think Ryan Anderson is a realistic target for the Pistons, and looks into Andre Drummond‘s long-term ceiling.

Central Notes: McMillan, Pistons, Draft

May 20th, 2016 at 9:37pm CST by Eddie Scarito

It remains to be seen how well new Pacers coach Nate McMillan has evolved since his stint with the Blazers, given how much the league has changed since then, Candace Buckner of The Indianapolis Star writes. “The interesting thing is that Nate went to Portland and had a pretty decent run of success there but played a very methodical, slowed-down, precise type of offense,” said former player Brent Barry, who was coached by McMillan for four seasons, “and I think that’s why a lot of people are interested in how it is after Larry’s comments with regards to coach Vogel, wanting to be a more up-tempo offensive, quick-strike team, how it is that Nate has changed and evolved during his time on the bench in Indiana.”

McMillan acknowledged that the game has changed on offense, telling reporters, “In 2005, nobody was talking about spread lineups. There’s no way, back in the day, I’d allow my center to be out here working on 3s. [Now] every team in the league’s center works on 3s. It’s just a different game.”

Here’s more from the Central Division:

The Pacers will hold their third predraft workout on Monday and participating will be Anthony Barber (North Carolina State), Ben Bentil (Providence), Kay Felder (Oakland), Armani Moore (Tennessee), Rasheed Sulaimon (Maryland), and Caleb Swanigan (Purdue), the team announced.
The Pistons‘ roster is relatively set for the 2016/17 season, which means that the team could look to get creative with its second round pick this June, Keith Langlois of NBA.com writes. Detroit’s options with the No. 49 overall pick include drafting an international player who’ll spend at least one more season in development overseas or trading it for a future second-round pick containing reasonable protections, Langlois adds. The Pistons are without second-rounders in 2017, 2019 and 2020, the scribe notes.
Former Cavaliers coach David Blatt reached out to Tyronn Lue, the man who replaced him in Cleveland, to offer his support and praise for the team’s postseason play, Chris Haynes of The Northeast Ohio Media Group relays. “He’s just a good person,” Lue told Haynes. “Always encouraging, always supportive. He just said how proud he was of me and what we’re doing, and that means a lot coming from him. His friendship is something I truly appreciate and value.“
The Bucks, who hold the No. 10 overall pick in this year’s draft, are likely to hold onto the pick rather than trade it, Jim Paschke of NBA.com relays (video link). According to GM John Hammond, due to the difficulty involved in moving up in the draft, any deal involving Milwaukee’s pick would likely be to trade down.