Tyronn Lue Rumors | Hoops Rumors

Eastern Notes: Thibodeau, Allen, Durant, Sixers

January 25th, 2016 at 9:28am CST by Chuck Myron

The Cavs would have given strong consideration to hiring Tom Thibodeau if they’d made a coaching change this past summer, a league source told Dave McMenamin of ESPN.com, but now, management has faith in Tyronn Lue, McMenamin writes. They’ve seen him manage to remain loyal to David Blatt while developing relationships of his own with the team’s stars, and they’re confident that Lue will command a level of effort from the team that they believe wasn’t always present under Blatt, McMenamin adds. See more from the Eastern Conference:

The Heat have had a standing offer to Ray Allen since the 2014 offseason, but he remains unmoved and that’s no surprise, given his frustration with the team during the 2013/14 season, his last one in Miami and last to date in the NBA, writes Ethan Skolnick of the Miami Herald. All of the former teammates and other acquaintances of Allen’s to whom Skolnick has spoken expect him to remain out of the game, though Allen said this past summer that he had no plans to officially retire.
Agents from around the league insist that the Nets are “in the mix” for soon-to-be free agent Kevin Durant, even though they look like long shots, writes Mike Mazzeo of ESPN.com. Durant’s free agency, expected to be one of the major storylines of the 2015/16, has largely been a backburner issue in large measure because Durant has spoken little about it and has rarely given any indication that he wants to leave the Thunder.
Meddling from owners who aren’t basketball personnel experts is most damaging when it affects draft decisions, which is why a report that Sixers ownership was worried about how fans would react to Kristaps Porzingis and pushed the team to draft someone else instead is troublesome, contends Derek Bodner of Philadelphia magazine. Sixers CEO Scott O’Neil says the report isn’t true, however (Twitter link).

And-Ones: Cavs, Wiggins, Nets

January 24th, 2016 at 10:28pm CST by Will Joseph

The Cavs will add veteran assistant Mike Longabardi to new head coach Tyronn Lue‘s staff, Brian Windhorst of ESPN.com reports. Lue and Longabardi spent four seasons together on Doc Rivers‘ staff in Boston, as Paul Coro of the Arizona Republic notes (on Twitter). Longabardi is expected to take over the defensive specialist role that Lue held, Windhorst adds. The Suns fired Longabardi, who is known as a defensive specialist, from his role as assistant coach in late December.

Here’s more from around the basketball world:

Andrew Wiggins has not spoke candidly about his feelings regarding the Cavs, the team that shipped him to the Wolves as part of the deal for Kevin Love, and instead has preferred to let his play speak for itself, Kent Youngblood of the Star Tribune writes. Wiggins has performed particularly well against the Cavs, as Youngblood points out.
One of the top assistants in the league, like Sean Sweeney of the Bucks, would be a sensible fit for the Nets‘ coaching vacancy because it would be wise for Brooklyn to avoid the long term implications of a flashy hire, Ben Dowsett of Basketball Insiders argues.
Center Salah Mejri, who was recently coming off the bench in the D-League, found himself starting for the Mavs in place of the injured Zaza Pachulia and is making the most out of his opportunity, Eddie Sefko of the Dallas Morning News relays.
Arinze Onuaku, who was with the Wolves at the end of last season, will be signing with the D-League, international journalist David Pick reports (on Twitter). Israeli powerhouse Maccabi Tel Aviv released Onuaku, Pick adds.

Cavs Notes: Lue, James, Smith

January 24th, 2016 at 9:00am CST by ChrisCrouse

The Cavs lost to the Bulls on Saturday night and Cleveland’s new coach Tyronn Lue had some sharp words for his team, Dave McMenamin of ESPN.com writes. “I don’t think we’re in good enough shape,” Lue said. “I think early, we wanted to push it, we wanted to open the floor, and I think we came out and did that, and then I think we just dropped off the map. I think we got tired. I just don’t think we’re in good enough shape right now to play in the style that we want to play.”

The team understands the criticism and the players are embracing the first time head coach. “Got to get used to that pace that coach Lue wants us to play at,” Kyrie Irving said. “It’s exciting, it’s an exciting brand of basketball that is tailor-fitted for the players that we have on our team.”

“Yup, we got to get in better shape,” LeBron James added. “Coach wanted to play faster, so we need to start doing stuff on off days, doing stuff at practice, during shootarounds, getting up and down the floor, getting our heart rate going, because he wants to play faster, play with more pace than we’ve done in the past. Try to get up and down the court before the defense is set on us. So we all need to be in better shape.”

Here’s more out of Cleveland:

J.R. Smith has been cleared of wrongdoing in the alleged choking incident outside of a New York night club back in November, Chris Haynes of the Northeast Ohio Media Group reports. “After a thorough investigation of the circumstances surrounding this case, we have concluded that the evidence does not support criminal charges against Mr. Smith,” Patrick Muncie, a spokesperson for the Manhattan District Attorney’s Office said. Haynes notes that the Cavs believed all along that Smith would be exonerated.
James shouldn’t be considered a coach killer, Marla Ridenour of the Akron Beacon Journal opines. While Ridenour admits that the firings of Paul Silas and Mike Brown were decisions that owner Dan Gilbert likely made to appease James, she argues that the coaches that Gilbert has hired in first place have simply been poor choices for the team.

Latest On David Blatt

January 23rd, 2016 at 6:31pm CST by Arthur Hill

Fired Cavaliers coach David Blatt is already drawing interest from the Nets, as Steve Kyler of Basketball Insiders hears (Twitter link). Chatter is connecting him to the Timberwolves, notes international journalist David Pick, and Kyler says Blatt’s name has also been linked to the Lakers (Twitter links). Blatt and Brooklyn have a natural connection, given his time as coach of the Russian national team and the presence of Russian Mikhail Prokhorov as Nets owner.

Cleveland GM David Griffin said it was behind-the-scenes issues rather than on-court performance that doomed Blatt, according to Chris Fedor of Cleveland.com. The Cavs compiled a 30-11 record through the first half of this season, but Griffin was unhappy with the atmosphere in the locker room and thought a change was necessary. “I’ve never seen a locker room not be as connected after wins as they need to be,” Griffin said. “We’ve only been galvanized when expectations were not high and circumstances were somewhat artificial. Otherwise, we’ve been a group of tremendous individual talent with individual hopes and dreams. That’s not a winning formula. I’m not leaving an unprecedented team payroll and all of the efforts of everybody that works in this organization to chance.”

Speaking to the media tonight, new coach Tyronn Lue said the Cavaliers don’t enjoy playing the game, tweets Jason Lloyd of the Akron Beacon-Journal. Lue also made an appeal for Blatt to be the Eastern Conference coach in the All-Star Game, tweets Chris Haynes of the Northeast Ohio Media Group and the Cleveland Plain Dealer, but a league source who spoke with Haynes shot down that possibility (Twitter link).

The reaction to Friday’s firing continues to pour in from around the league:

Pistons coach/executive Stan Van Gundy has been an outspoken critic of the move, writes David Mayo of MLive. Van Gundy expressed dismay that Blatt was let go despite taking the Cavs to the NBA Finals last year and compiling the best record in the East this season. “You can’t even make a flimsy case for the fact that the guy wasn’t meeting expectations,” Van Gundy said. “So obviously, there’s something else going on, and that’s what I’m saying — none of us now has any clue, whatsoever, what the expectations for coaches are.”
To be successful, Lue needs the full support that the Cavaliers were never willing to give to Blatt, contends Jeff Zillgitt of USA Today. As a former player and respected assistant coach, Lue has the advantage of being an NBA insider, which Zillgitt believes will make it easier for him to relate to players than it was for Blatt.
Blatt turned out to be the wrong coach at the wrong time, and the Cavaliers wasted a year and a half of James’ career by not firing him sooner, writes Tim Kawakami of The Bay Area News Group. He contrasts that with the situation in Golden State, where the Warriors dumped Mark Jackson after the 2013/14 season even though they knew it would upset Stephen Curry because they believed Steve Kerr would be a better coach for their star.

Chuck Myron contributed to this story.

And-Ones: Del Negro, Lue, D-League

January 23rd, 2016 at 4:20pm CST by Eddie Scarito

The rash of injuries the Heat have suffered this season are taking a toll on the players, who have been asked to log significantly more minutes than normal as a result, Alex Kennedy of Basketball Insiders writes. “The toughest part about it is that you always worry about the health of your teammate, first and foremost,” Chris Bosh said. “You always want guys to be as healthy as possible, but when it’s another guy going down, it’s just tough. Two weeks ago, we were going into a West Coast road trip, really trying to prove ourselves with a whole roster and now we’ve got six guys out. It’s just a tough pill to swallow.”

While the situation is far from ideal, Bosh did note that the team’s younger players were benefiting from the increased playing time, Kennedy adds. “We’re constantly just trying to digest what’s going on, take the hit on the chin and then regroup,” Bosh continued. “Our young guys are trying [to fill in], but they’re inexperienced and they’re really learning on the fly. I think the best part about it is it’s going to help us in the long run because these guys are getting minutes under stressful situations, and that’s how it’s going to be later on.”

Here’s more from around the league:

Celtics big man Jared Sullinger is a big fan of new Cavs coach Tyronn Lue, and he raves about the former Boston assistant’s demeanor and knowledge, A. Sherrod Blakely of CSNNE.com writes. “I like Ty Lue,” Sullinger told Blakely. “He knows a lot about the game. He helped me out big-time when he was here, as far as helping me stay calm, staying confident and just staying ready at all times.”
Vinny Del Negro expects to coach in the NBA again, as he told Adrian Wojnarowski of Yahoo Sports in an appearance on the “The Vertical” podcast. Del Negro confirmed that he has had interviews with the Pelicans, Timberwolves, Nuggets and Cavaliers since the Clippers let him go in 2013, adding that he had extensive player personnel duties in his final year with L.A. “From Jamal Crawford to Matt Barnes to Chauncey [Billups] to Grant [Hill] to everyone, doing the sign-and-trade for Willie Green, everything that was involved. All the front office did was the paperwork,” Del Negro said (audio link, scroll to 28-minute mark).
The Rockets have assigned Montrezl Harrell and K.J. McDaniels to their D-League affiliate, the team announced. This will be Harrell’s third trek to Rio Grande Valley and McDaniels’ fifth on the season.

Chuck Myron contributed to this post.

Cavaliers Notes: Jackson, Blatt, Lue

January 23rd, 2016 at 8:56am CST by Eddie Scarito

Former Cavs big man Brendan Haywood has maintained close ties with members of the Cleveland organization and says that former coach David Blatt lost the locker room due to his reticence to challenge LeBron James, Steve Aschburner of NBA.com relays. In an interview on Sirius XM’s NBA Today channel, Haywood said, “Coach Blatt was very hesitant to challenge LeBron James. It was one of those situations where, being a rookie coach, and LeBron being bigger than life, it was a little too much for him. I remember we had James Jones [talk] to Coach about how, ‘Hey, you can’t just skip over when LeBron James makes a mistake in the film room.’ Because we all see it. And we’re like, ‘Hey, you didn’t say anything about that. You’re going to correct when Matthew Dellavedova‘s not in the right spot. You’re going to say something when Tristan Thompson‘s not in the right spot. Well, we see a fast break and LeBron didn’t get back on defense or there’s a rotation and he’s supposed to be there, and you just keep rolling the film and the whole room is quiet.’ We see that as players. That’s when … as a player, you start to lose respect for a coach.”

Here’s the latest out of Cleveland:

Tyronn Lue‘s three year contract calls for him to make a prorated $3MM for this season, $3MM for the 2016/17 campaign and the final year is a team option worth $3.5MM, Ramona Shelburne of ESPN.com relays (ESPN Now link).
James and his agent, Rich Paul, had been trying to get Blatt replaced with former Warriors coach Mark Jackson since last season, Adrian Wojnarowski of Yahoo Sports writes. Once it became apparent that the Cavs would not hire Jackson, Lue became James’ and Klutch Sports’ fallback option, though Lue’s refusal to sign with the agency for representation leaves him in a position where he needs to have immediate success, Wojnarowski adds. The Yahoo scribe also notes that Lue considered taking the position as an interim one, but instead decided to take the security of a longer deal.
Mavs coach Rick Carlisle called the Cavs’ decision to part ways with Blatt an embarrassment to the league and believes Blatt will land another NBA position, Brad Townsend of The Dallas Morning News writes. “It’s a shocker. It’s just a real shocker,” Carlisle said regarding Blatt’s dismissal. “The bottom line with this is that I know a couple of things about coaching in this league. I know integrity. And I know knowledge. I can’t speak to the internal things that [might] have gone on in Cleveland. I’ve read some of the comments that came from the Cavaliers. Teams have a right to make changes. But David Blatt is going to be a highly sought-after coach this summer, if and when there are openings — if he chooses to stay. After this, you just hope a guy like this is still open to coaching in the NBA.“

Cavs Notes: Blatt, Lue, Love

January 22nd, 2016 at 5:25pm CST by Eddie Scarito

Former Cavaliers coach David Blatt, who was fired earlier today, released a statement regarding his departure (h/t Priority Sports). “I am very grateful to have had the opportunity to serve as the Head Coach of the Cleveland Cavaliers,” Blatt wrote. “I’d like to thank [team owner] Dan Gilbert and [GM] David Griffin for giving me this opportunity and am honored to have worked with an amazing group of players from LeBron James, Kyrie Irving and Kevin Love through our entire roster. I’d also like to express my extreme gratitude to my coaching staff. I am indebted to them for their professionalism, hard work, loyalty and friendship. I am proud of what we have accomplished since I have been the Head Coach and wish the Cavaliers nothing but the best this season and beyond.”

Here’s more from Cleveland amid a day of big changes:

Griffin denied that the team gave Tyronn Lue a contract extension but noted that Lue was named head coach without the interim title, Dave McMenamin of ESPN.com relays (via Twitter). Griffin made his remarks during a press conference to announce the team’s coaching change. Adrian Wojnarowski of Yahoo Sports heard from league sources that Lue was given a new three-year deal worth approximately $9.5MM (Twitter link).
The Cavs’ players were taken completely by surprise by Blatt’s firing, and when a team meeting was called to announce the move many of them thought it was because Love had been traded, Brian Windhorst of ESPN.com relays (on Twitter).
There may be some players on the team who aren’t happy about the decision to part ways with Blatt, but Griffin said it was a move they would have to respect regardless of their feelings, Sam Amico of Amico Hoops tweets.
The franchise was concerned that Blatt was reluctant to consistently challenge LeBron, who is a coachable player whose respect must first be earned, Sam Amick of USA Today tweets.

Cavs Fire David Blatt, Replace Him With Tyronn Lue

January 22nd, 2016 at 3:42pm CST by Chuck Myron

David Richard / USA TODAY Sports Images

3:42pm: GM David Griffin was the catalyst for the change, a source tells Jason Lloyd of the Akron Beacon Journal (Twitter link). He didn’t consult any of the players, according to Haynes (on Twitter), and he convinced the owners that the team wasn’t performing up to expectations, Lloyd adds.

2:54pm: The Cavs have fired head coach David Blatt and reached agreement on a three-year deal with Tyronn Lue to replace him, sources tell Adrian Wojnarowski of Yahoo Sports (Twitter links here). Chris Haynes of the Northeast Ohio Media Group and the Cleveland Plain Dealer first reported that Lue, who had been serving as the team’s lead assistant, would take over the head coaching job (Twitter link). The timing of the move is a surprise, coming off the team’s win against the Clippers on Thursday, one that helped erase at least some of the memories of the team’s blowout loss to the Warriors on Monday. Discontent had been growing in the Cleveland locker room, tweets Brian Windhorst of ESPN.com, noting that the dissatisfaction dates back nearly to the beginning of Blatt’s tenure last season. Owner Dan Gilbert had been a fervent supporter of Blatt, Windhorst adds (Twitter link), but it appears the owner has finally seen fit for a change.

Chatter that LeBron James and others on the Cavs were done with Blatt had been building recently, according to USA Today’s Sam Amick, but the team’s brass didn’t consult James on the decision, according to Windhorst (on Twitter). Still, the organization knew that James likes Lue and has wanted to have a former NBA player as coach, Windhorst adds (Twitter link). James and agent Rich Paul have been strong advocates of Lue taking over for Blatt since last season, league sources tell Wojnarowski (Twitter link).

Windhorst suggested earlier this week, after the Warriors loss, that Blatt’s job hung in the balance of how well the team performed the rest of the season. Blatt said dire assessments of the team’s future in the wake of the blowout were overstated, but it appears the coach was in an even more tenuous situation than most realized.

The Cavs made Lue the highest-paid NBA assistant coach ever when they hired him to Blatt’s staff in 2014. He reportedly interviewed twice for the head coaching job before the team instead gave it to Blatt. Lue played 11 seasons in the NBA, the last of which was 2008/09. He joined the Celtics staff the next season and followed Doc Rivers to the Clippers where he continued as an assistant coach before heading to Cleveland. This will be his first job as a head coach.

Blatt went 83-40 in the regular season and 14-6 in the playoffs during his season and a half in charge of the Cavs, a team with the highest of expectations. James returned to Cleveland from his time with the Heat just weeks after the Cavs hired Blatt, and that drastically changed the nature of the job, which became a win-or-else proposition as the team moved away from rebuilding and positioned itself to win immediately.

The relationship between James and Blatt drew close scrutiny, but Blatt’s brusque personality rubbed many the wrong way, and James was far from the only one who had issues, notes Jason Lloyd of the Akron Beacon Journal (Twitter links). Still, Blatt has seemed on much more solid footing this year than he was early last season, when the Cavs started 19-20, a sluggish beginning that reportedly prompted worry from the team’s brass about the coach’s job performance.

Is changing out Blatt for Lue the right move for the Cavs? Leave a comment to tell us.

Cavs Notes: Gilbert, Irving, J.R. Smith, Lue

March 27th, 2015 at 12:29pm CST by Chuck Myron

Cavs owner Dan Gilbert is a nine on a scale of one to 10 in terms of an owner’s involvement in his team, with the ubiquitous Mark Cuban a 10, a prominent agent tells Brian Windhorst of ESPN.com. Gilbert was the only Cavs representative in his pitch meeting to LeBron James when the four-time MVP was a free agent last summer, and the owner was alone with GM David Griffin when they helped convince Kevin Love to accept a trade later this past summer, according to Windhorst. Gilbert insists he’s not so hands-on, but his ballooning net worth and willingness to spend it on the Cavs has played a major role in the team’s rise to prominence, as Windhorst details. Here’s more from around Cleveland:

Kyrie Irving hasn’t had nearly the trouble meshing with James as Love has, Fred Kerber of the New York Post examines. That’s surely a relief for the Cavs, who committed a five-year extension to Irving this past summer that won’t kick in until next season.
The Knicks’ division championship of two years ago is but a memory to J.R. Smith, who isn’t high on the return the Knicks got when they traded him to the Cavs in January, as Kerber notes in the same piece. “It seems extremely distant, like one of the first years I was in the league, that’s how far back it seems,” Smith said. “Honestly, I don’t really think about it. If anything, it’s their fault for making a bad business move, I guess.”
Assistant coach Tyronn Lue has been instrumental in keeping the Cavs’ locker room together, as Kevin Arnovitz of ESPN.com writes in an Insider-only piece that tabs Lue as one of the league’s top head coaching prospects. Cleveland made Lue the highest-paid assistant of all-time this past summer. “He respects the work that’s required to do the job and he has the gift of being able to verbalize things to players in a straightforward way without being offensive,” said Clippers coach/executive Doc Rivers, Lue’s former boss. “He sees things in games a lot of people can’t see. He’d see opportunities for us — in games, watching film, observing — and would bring them to me. He has a chance to be very special.“

Amico On Nets, Lawson, Williams, Kings

February 3rd, 2015 at 7:30pm CST by Eddie Scarito

With the NBA trade deadline just over two weeks away, many GMs from around the league are certain to be burning up their phone plan minutes while trying to improve their teams for a playoff run, or for others, trying to clear as much cap space as possible for the summer’s free agent signing period. Sam Amico of FOX Sports Ohio ran down a number of rumors from around the league. Here are some of the highlights:

The Nets have been seeking trade partners for Brook Lopez, Joe Johnson, and Deron Williams, but they are looking to receive assets in return, and not to just dump salary in the deal, Amico notes. “I’ve talked to Brook about it, I’ve talked to Joe, I’ve talked to Deron,” Brooklyn GM Billy King said. “The players all know it’s part of the business, but we’re not looking just to get rid of these guys just because they’re saying they’re gonna do that. We’re exploring things that make sense as people call, but we’re not going to be making a trade to make a trade. That’s foolish.“
Brooklyn had originally spoken with the Kings regarding a possible deal for Williams over a month ago, but those discussions have since died out, Amico adds. The Nets had also discussed a trade with the Hornets involving Johnson and Lance Stephenson.
The Nuggets appear to be willing to trade point guard Ty Lawson, but Denver’s asking price is currently high enough that it is scaring away inquiring teams, the FOX Sports scribe notes.
The Timberwolves are willing to deal Mo Williams, and the Kings are interested, Amico hears. Other teams reportedly interested in the veteran guard are the Pistons, Heat, Cavs, and Clippers.
Barring a sudden turnaround in Sacramento, the odds are against Tyrone Corbin being retained as coach for next season, Amico notes. In addition to Kings executive Chris Mullin being a potential replacement, both Tyronn Lue and Larry Drew will be considered candidates as well, Amico adds.