Tyronn Lue Rumors | Hoops Rumors

Central Notes: Van Gundy, Novak, Shaw

May 10th, 2016 at 8:27pm CST by Eddie Scarito

The success that Stan Van Gundy has had since joining the Pistons in the dual role of coach and executive opened the doors for other joint arrangements around the league, Keith Langlois of NBA.com writes. When asked if he felt pressure to make his arrangement in Detroit work so it could open up similar avenues around the league for his coaching brethren, Van Gundy told Langlois, “Yeah, I think that’s fair to say. Actually, yeah. I don’t know about pressure, but you certainly feel — I don’t want to say the word obligation, either. I don’t know what the word would be. But you do feel a responsibility to do well and to show that coaches can do these things.” Since Van Gundy was hired by the Pistons, the Hawks (Mike Budenholzer) and Timberwolves (Tom Thibodeau) have made similar dual-role arrangements, Langlois adds.

Here’s more from out of the Central Division:

Despite his loyalty to former Pacers coach Frank Vogel, Brian Shaw would welcome the opportunity to become Indiana’s next head coach, Scott Agness of VigilantSports relays. “I spent two seasons there under Frank Vogel as the associate head coach and I’m familiar with some of the players on that team and the way that they do business there,” Shaw said. “With that being said, it’s a bittersweet situation to be in, position to be in, because I have so much respect for Frank Vogel. I think he did a great job, especially with what he’s had to go through over the last couple of seasons with Paul George’s injury last year, losing David West and Roy Hibbert and Lance Stephenson, guys who were critical parts of the two teams that went to the Eastern Conference finals. Obviously, that is the goal of any coach to want to run their own system and be the head guy in charge of trying to put things together.” Shaw is reportedly one of a number of candidates that team executive Larry Bird is considering to replace the fired Vogel.
In response to a fan-posed question on their official Twitter account, Bucks co-owner Jamie Dinan indicated he would like to re-sign unrestricted free agent combo forward Steve Novak for next season. Novak only appeared in three games with Milwaukee before a sprained left MCL prematurely ended his season, but the veteran has expressed his desire to re-sign with the franchise this summer.
With the Cavs struggling down the stretch of the regular season, Kevin Love credits a talk coach Tyronn Lue gave to the team for sparking the recent hot streak Cleveland has been on, Dave McMenamin of ESPN.com writes.

Cavaliers Notes: Frye, Griffin, Lue, James

May 8th, 2016 at 6:06pm CST by Arthur Hill

Channing Frye‘s huge performance in Game 3 of the series with the Hawks helped justify GM David Griffin’s $32MM decision to bring him to Cleveland, writes Brian Windhorst of ESPN.com. The Cavaliers acquired Frye from the Magic at the trade deadline, sending a second round pick to Orlando in return. Cleveland had to absorb the rest of Frye’s contract, which runs through 2017/18, plus luxury taxes, bringing the total cost of the deal to about $32MM. Frye, who had 27 points off the bench Friday as the Cavs won in Atlanta, was close to joining the Cavaliers before. He visited them in 2009, but opted for Phoenix. Griffin recruited him in 2014, offering the chance to play with Kyrie Irving and possibly Gordon Hayward, but those plans were scuttled when LeBron James announced he was returning to Cleveland.

There’s more news as the Cavs return to the conference finals:

Cleveland gave Frye an opportunity he never had in Orlando, according to Brian Schmitz of The Orlando Sentinel. The 33-year-old Frye was a veteran stuck in a rebuilding situation with the Magic, but now he’s surrounded by All-Stars and has the chance to win a title. “When I got traded here I knew there was responsibility to come at the level these guys are playing at,” Frye said. “[Magic coach] Scott Skiles told me, ‘Hey Channing man, you’re a great player, you’re going to help them win a game in a series, you know. You’re going to help them win a game and do some bigger things.’ I always think about that.”
This may be Tyronn Lue‘s first postseason as a head coach, but he’s performing like a veteran, writes Jason Lloyd of The Akron Beacon Journal. Lue compiled a 27-14 record after taking over for the fired David Blatt in January. Now he’s trying to surpass Blatt’s performance from a year ago and lead the Cavaliers to a championship. “Being able to push the right buttons is actually working out,” Lue said. “It feels good right now.”
The sweep of Atlanta sets up a possible series with the Heat, with the highest stakes since James left Miami two years ago, according to Mitch Lawrence of Forbes.com. “It’d be great to play against those guys in the postseason,” James said of his former team. “Throughout my whole career, I’ve always wanted to go against [Dwyane] Wade in a playoff series. We’ve always talked about it even before we became teammates in ’10. It’s not been heavy on my mind, but it’s crossed my mind throughout my whole career.”

Eastern Notes: Hill, Lue, D-League

May 5th, 2016 at 10:06pm CST by Eddie Scarito

Because the Pacers declined to exercise their team option on Solomon Hill for 2016/17, the small forward is now set to become an unrestricted free agent and Indiana cannot offer Hill a salary for next season greater than $2,306,019, which is the value of the option the Pacers declined. Team executive Larry Bird, speaking at today’s press conference, noted that he told Hill in his exit interview that that the team would consider re-signing him, Candace Buckner of The Indianapolis Star relays in a series of tweets. Bird also told the 25-year-old that he did him a favor by declining the option because it lit a fire under him this season, Buckner adds. Hill made 59 appearances for the Pacers this season, notching averages of 4.2 points, 2.8 rebounds and 1.0 assist in 14.7 minutes per contest. His shooting line on the season was .447/.324/.857.

Here’s more from out of the Eastern Conference:

Cavaliers coach Tyronn Lue has consistently held LeBron James accountable for his mistakes, something former coach David Blatt was unable or unwilling to do, and it has strengthened the relationship between James and Lue as a result, Brian Windhorst of ESPN.com writes.
Bucks GM John Hammond told members of the media that Milwaukee hopes to establish its own D-League affiliate in time for the 2017/18 season, as Chris Reichert of Upside & Motor relays (via Twitter).
The Nets made significant strides in their 3-point shooting as a team after David Nurse joined the team as a shooting coach in January, Ian Begley of ESPN.com notes (ESPN Now link). Prior to Nurse’s arrival, Brooklyn shot just 32.6% from beyond the arc, which was good for 28th in the league, Begley writes. But the Nets actually led the league from deep after Nurse came aboard, sinking a stellar 40.7% of their 3-point shots.

Central Notes: Caldwell-Pope, Harris, Lue, Vogel

April 30th, 2016 at 2:05pm CST by Arthur Hill

Kentavious Caldwell-Pope may think twice before committing to a contract extension with the Pistons, according to David Mayo of MLive. The third-year shooting guard will be eligible for an extension this offseason, but he may try to increase his value with another productive season and then take his chances as a restricted free agent next summer. “I think what’s important is we’ll have to have discussions and see what’s important to Kentavious and have a sense of where they’re at with the whole thing,” said GM Jeff Bower. “It’s something that doesn’t have to take place. But what does have to take place is an understanding of what’s important, what time frames are important, how he understands his place and role here.” Caldwell-Pope started all 76 games he played this season, averaging 14.3 points per night.

There’s more on the Central Division:

Replacing Ersan Ilyasova with Tobias Harris in a February trade helped the Pistons reach the playoffs, Mayo writes in a separate piece. Ilyasova tended to slow down the offense, while Harris displayed a willingness to pass, shoot, drive, rebound and do anything the team needed from him. Detroit’s offensive rating improved nearly three points per 100 possessions after Harris arrived. Mayo adds that the Pistons will emphasize shooting as they search the free agent market for backups at the point guard and power forward positions.
Tyronn Lue hasn’t signed a new contract since taking over as the Cavaliers‘ head coach in January, but he’s not interested in any of the open positions around the league, relays Dave McMenamin of ESPN. Lue was the league’s highest-paid assistant, with a four-year deal he signed in 2014 worth $6.5MM. After replacing David Blatt, Lue reached a verbal agreement worth $3MM prorated for his time as head coach this season and another $3MM for next year, along with a team option for 2017/18 at $3.5MM with a buyout. An unidentified source told ESPN the Cavs will live up to the offer and plan to finalize the deal with Lue this summer.
Pacers coach Frank Vogel is used to the level of criticism he received after the Game 5 loss to Toronto, which included calls for his firing on social media, writes Gregg Doyel of The Indianapolis Star. “I don’t take it personally,” Vogel said after the Indiana blew out the Raptors in Game 6. “I hear everything. I don’t take anything personal. The passion the fans have? It isn’t as strong as mine.”

Eastern Notes: Lue, Johnson, Thibodeau

April 20th, 2016 at 7:55pm CST by Eddie Scarito

Cavaliers GM David Griffin was hesitant to say anything negative about former coach David Blatt, but the executive did contend that Blatt wasn’t the right person to lead the team’s current roster, Terry Pluto of The Plain Dealer writes. “David really didn’t do anything inherently wrong,” said Griffin. “It just wasn’t the right fit. We [the players] are radically more engaged with each other [since Tyronn Lue took over as coach]. You can see it on an night-in, night-out basis just by watching the bench during games.”

When asked about the Cavs’ record being worse under Lue than under Blatt this season, Griffin responded, “I told everyone that things were likely to get worse before they got better after the change,” said Griffin. “I know the [coaching] change was somewhat unprecedented. We were going to make some significant changes, and it was going to take Ty a while to get his feet on the ground. At one point, we had 23 games in 41 days. When Ty took over, we were changing offensive and defensive schemes and there were periods where we had absolutely no practice days. We put him in a very tough spot.”

Here’s more from the Eastern Conference:

Pistons rookie swingman Stanley Johnson has embraced the challenge of guarding LeBron James in his first-ever playoff series, which is in line with the competitive fire that made the team enamored with him in the first place, Nick Friedell of ESPN.com writes. “Stanley’s toughness and competitiveness and the fact that he’ll never back down, that’s not been a concern all year,” coach/executive Stan Van Gundy said. “What he’s got to do is play smarter, make better decisions and continue to work on his skills. I never have a doubt about his competitiveness. If you’re not a competitor, a great competitor at 19, my guess is at 22 you’re not going to be a great competitor, either. That to me is just sort of part of the personality. Now you’ll learn to play situations better, you maybe won’t make the mistakes about being nervous, you’ll have seen things more. All of those things will change, but the competitiveness to go out and play the best player in the world and not be afraid and all of that. If he didn’t have that now, I don’t think he’d have it in three years, quite honestly.”
The plethora of talented young defensive players the Wolves possess makes former Bulls coach Tom Thibodeau the perfect choice to lead Minnesota into contention, opines Tim Bontemps of The Washington Post.
The Hawks have once again assigned swingman Lamar Patterson to the Austin Spurs of the NBA D-League, Chris Vivlamore of The Atlanta Journal-Constitution relays. Patterson will play in the deciding game of the Western Conference finals against the Los Angeles D-Fenders tonight, Vivlamore notes.

Central Rumors: James, Drummond, Bucks Arena

April 4th, 2016 at 9:38pm CST by Dana Gauruder

Cavs coach Tyronn Lue asserted his authority in a recent meeting with LeBron James in which Lue told the superstar small forward to cut out the distractions, Brian Windhorst of ESPN.com reports. Lue’s challenge came in the wake of James’ recent actions, including comments about his desire to play with Dwyane Wade, Chris Paul and Carmelo Anthony and cryptic messages on social media, Windhorst continues. James has lifted his game since the meeting, averaging 28.9 points, 8.9 rebounds and 9.6 assists over the past seven games as Cleveland has solidified its status as the Eastern Conference’s top seed, Windhorst adds.

In other developments around the Central Division:

Andre Drummond‘s woeful free throw shooting is making it increasingly difficult for Pistons coach Stan Van Gundy to keep his star center on the court at the end of close games, David Mayo of MLive writes. Drummond was on the bench during the closing minutes of Detroit’s crucial win over the Bulls on Saturday night after Chicago began intentionally fouling him. Drummond, who made just one of 10 free throw attempts during that game, is shooting a league-worst 35.4% from the foul line. “In a close game like that, back and forth, we can’t be playing hoping for one point, at most, when they’re playing for two or three,” Van Gundy told Mayo and other media members. “You can’t do that. You’re putting way too much pressure on your defense.”
The latest design proposal for the Bucks’ new arena received approval from Milwaukee’s planning commission on Monday, moving the $500MM project forward for groundbreaking this summer, Tom Daykin of the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel reports. The development plan also requires Common Council approval, Daykin continues. The arena is scheduled to open by the 2018/19 season, Daykin adds.
The Pacers recalled power forwards Shayne Whittington and Rakeem Christmas from their D-League affiliate, the Fort Wayne Mad Ants, according to the team’s website. Whittington played in 40 games for the Mad Ants, averaging 12.1 points and 7.9 rebounds, while Christmas appeared in 48 games, averaging 13.9 points and 7.1 rebounds.

Cavaliers Rumors: LeBron, Irving, Williams, Lue

March 27th, 2016 at 11:40am CST by Arthur Hill

After a week filled with speculation sparked by comments that he would like to team up with three of his friends, LeBron James is expressing confidence in the Cavaliers’ chances at an NBA title, writes Fred Kerber of The New York Post. James said he dreams of joining forces with Dwyane Wade, Carmelo Anthony and Chris Paul for at least one season before they all retire. That came on the heels of a decision Monday to unfollow the Cavs’ official Twitter account. On Saturday, James, who can opt out of his contract this summer, expressed confidence in his current teammates and indicated his long-term future will be in Cleveland. “I believe in what we have,” he said. “And I know we can win a championship with the group we have. And I’m confident in my abilities to lead this group and everything else is smoke and mirrors and doesn’t really matter to me.”

There’s more news out of Cleveland:

The constant hints about his future have turned James into a distraction, contends Mark Heisler of The Los Angeles Daily News. Replacing head coach David Blatt with Tyronn Lue was supposed to bring peace to the locker room, but Heisler writes that point guard Kyrie Irving isn’t willing to become a second option to James the way that Wade did in Miami. Irving is seven years younger than James and is signed through 2019, so Heisler thinks he considers himself a cornerstone in Cleveland regardless of what James decides.
Backup point guard Mo Williams returned to the court Saturday for the first time in a month after getting an injection in his left knee, according to Jason Lloyd of The Akron Beacon Journal. Williams had just started practicing a few days ago, but Lue asked him to help out with Irving sidelined. “I just started on-court stuff Monday,” Williams said. “In my mind it was next week, that’s what I was telling everyone silently. Every situation is different and I’m the ultimate team guy. I’m not going to put our team in a bind.” Williams said he will probably have knee pain the rest of his career but doesn’t plan to retire anytime soon.
Lue resumed coaching the defense after the Cavs gave up 122 points last week in a loss to Miami, Lloyd writes in the same piece. He had given those duties to assistant Mike Longabardi after being named head coach.

J.R. Smith To Drop CAA, Hire Klutch Sports

March 24th, 2016 at 10:00am CST by Chuck Myron

J.R. Smith is in the midst of parting with agent Leon Rose and the Creative Artists Agency and plans to sign with Rich Paul of the LeBron James-backed Klutch Sports Group, reports Chris Haynes of the Northeast Ohio Media Group and the Cleveland Plain Dealer. It’s the latest step in the growing bond between Smith and James, who’ve strengthened their connection on the court and off since Smith arrived in Cleveland via trade in January 2015, Haynes writes. Smith is on an unusual two-year contract that includes a player option and partially guaranteed salary for next season.

That deal came at the end of a frustrating summer for Smith, who turned down a player option worth nearly $6.4MM and lingered on the market for about two months before agreeing to a $5MM salary for this season. The partial guarantee on next season’s $5.375MM salary is worth only $2.2MM, though it increases to a full guarantee if he remains under contract through September 7th.

Smith will join James and fellow Cavs teammate Tristan Thompson as clients of Paul. The swingman represents the latest score for Klutch, which also landed Ben Simmons, a prime contender for the No. 1 overall pick who announced his selection of Klutch on Wednesday. John Wall left Dan Fegan of Relativity Sports to sign with Paul earlier this season. CAA has also otherwise had a strong year so far, landing Joel Embiid as well as soon-to-be free agent Pau Gasol.

The 30-year-old Smith has had a reputation for inconsistent play and stirred controversy in the past, but he was recently cleared of any wrongdoing in a case involving an incident outside a New York nightclub. Coach Tyronn Lue is impressed with Smith’s growth, as Haynes relays.

“Just talking to him the other day after the game, just hearing his maturity. I think him taking that step he took this summer, I think that’s helped him off the court,” Lue said. “And then on the court, every night, he’s giving us effort every single night. He’s playing hard. He’s competing and that’s all we can ask of J.R. It’s been good because I’ve known him since he was 18 years old, just to see the growth and how he’s matured over the years.”

Eastern Notes: Lue, Kilpatrick, Biyombo

March 22nd, 2016 at 9:33pm CST by Eddie Scarito

The Raptors are hoping that Bismack Biyombo will exercise his player option for 2016/17 and remain in Toronto for another season, Steve Simmons of The National Post writes. “I’m going to make it very hard for him,” said GM Masai Ujiri. “I’m going to try and do whatever I can to get it done. There are going to be other people who want this player. My job is to try and get it done.” The center noted that he was happy with the Raptors but added that he hasn’t made a decision regarding his option, Simmons relays. “To be here right now is amazing and it’s a blessing. To tell you the truth, I haven’t thought about [free agency],” said Biyombo. “I love Toronto. I love the fans. I love everything about it. But the focus for me right now is for us to go as far as we can. I don’t see why [I wouldn’t sign here]. But really, I haven’t thought about it.” Biyombo inked a two-year, $5.755MM contract with the team last summer and Toronto only holds his Non-Bird rights, which could make re-signing the 23-year-old difficult if he opts out of his pact.

Here’s more from the East:

After two months on the job as coach of the Cavaliers, Tyronn Lue hasn’t cured the team of its pre-existing inconsistencies on the court, which makes judging his performance difficult, Brian Windhorst of ESPN.com writes. The ESPN scribe does note that the team’s defense has taken a hit since Lue took over the reigns, with Cleveland ranked 14th in defensive rating and a woeful 20th in defensive field goal percentage under the new coach. Cleveland was ranked fifth in defensive rating and ninth in field goal defense before David Blatt was fired. Lue is still adjusting to being a head coach, a move that is more challenging than he believed previously, Windhorst adds. “When I was a player for Doc [Rivers], I never used to understand why he got mad at the little things,” Lue said. “Now I see why coaches get mad about little, small things. It happens a lot. Things I want to do, things I want [to] implement, it’s been tough to do it midway through the season.”
Sean Kilpatrick‘s multiyear deal with the Nets includes a fully guaranteed salary of $980K for 2016/17 and a non-guaranteed salary of $1.05MM for 2017/18, Eric Pincus of Basketball Insiders reports (Twitter link). The three-year length means the team used a prorated portion of its mid-level exception to sign him.
Melvin Ejim, who was in training camp with the Magic earlier this season, has signed with the Italian club Reyer Venezia, the team announced (translation courtesy of Emiliano Carchia of Sportando). Orlando’s D-League affiliate waived Ejim to allow him to sign overseas.

Cavs Notes: Shumpert, Johnson, Lue

March 7th, 2016 at 4:00pm CST by Chuck Myron

The Cavaliers privately deny that they were making Iman Shumpert available in trade talk before the deadline last month, but some in the organization think he might be doing too much to justify the four-year, $40MM contract he signed last summer, reports Jason Lloyd of the Akron Beacon Journal. The fifth-year swingman is averaging career lows in points and field goal percentage since returning in December from a preseason wrist injury, and he often turns the ball over when he tries to drive to the hoop, Lloyd writes.

“His biggest thing for us is defending the best player every single night,” coach Tyronn Lue said. “His shot is going to come and go. Some games, he’s going to get six or seven shots, some games he gets two shots. I’m not really worried about his shots and his scoring. He just has to step up and shoot them with confidence. But for the most part, for Shump and for us, his value is every single night guarding the best player, which he’s done a great job of.”

See more on the Eastern Conference leaders:

Some Cavs players were convinced that Joe Johnson would sign with the team and were already talking about the sort of lineup they could play with him on the roster, Lloyd writes in a separate piece. Johnson instead signed with the Heat after earlier reports that he envisioned joining the Cavs.
Tremendous weight is on Lue’s shoulders as he navigates his first NBA head coaching job and deals with immediate expectations of a title, but he’s keeping perspective, as Dave McMenamin of ESPN.com examines. “I want to win and I know I’m supposed to win, but I think the biggest thing for me is I have to do the best job I can do, but then also enjoy it,” Lue said. “I just can’t put the pressure on of winning a championship, winning a championship, because then I’d never be able to sleep.”
The “word is” the Cavs signed Sasha Kaun last summer to give since-deposed coach David Blatt an ally in the locker room, according to Chris Haynes of the Northeast Ohio Media Group and the Cleveland Plain Dealer. Haynes reported last week that Cavs players were angry that the team decided against re-signing Kendrick Perkins to instead do the deal with Kaun. Perkins played the role of enforcer for Cleveland last season, and LeBron James and Kyrie Irving say having someone to fill that gritty capacity is vital, Haynes notes. Still, it’s “laughable” to suggest that Cavs players don’t think they have enough to win the championship as is, McMenamin opines.