San Antonio Spurs Rumors | Hoops Rumors

Pacific Rumors: Randle, Bradley, Looney, Kokoskov

April 23rd, 2018 at 7:43pm CST by Dana Gauruder

Lakers power forward Julius Randle could wind up in his hometown of Dallas next season, Frank Urbina of Hoops Hype speculates. Randle would be a nice fit alongside guard Dennis Smith Jr. and the Mavericks have plenty of cap space to sign him. He played very well against them this season, averaging 21.8 PPG, 11.5 RPG and 5.6 APG on 66% shooting, Urbina notes. Randle would also slot in well with the Suns and Pacers, Urbina adds, though it’s more likely he winds up staying with the Lakers. Randle will be a restricted free agent if, as expected, the Lakers extend a $5.564MM qualifying offer by the June 29th deadline.

Also around the Pacific Division:

Clippers shooting guard Avery Bradley could wind up with the Sixers if Philadelphia loses J.J. Redick in free agency, Urbina writes in a separate piece. Bradley’s spot-up shooting and man-to-man defense would make him a good fit with their young core, Urbina continues. The Spurs and Thunder, who were involved in trade rumors for Bradley this winter, could be potential landing spots. The Pelicans might also be interested in upgrading the shooting guard spot, which would allow them to move Jrue Holiday back to the point if they lose free agent Rajon Rondo, Urbina adds.
Big man Kevon Looney has emerged as a key player for the Warriors and that won’t change throughout the postseason, according to Dieter Kurtenbach of the San Jose Mercury News. The Warriors’ first-round pick in 2015 has battled injuries during his first two seasons. Now healthy, Looney gives the Warriors another quality defender with length who guard all five positions, Kurtenbach adds. Looney could be plying his trade somewhere else next season, as he’ll be an unrestricted free agent this summer. The Warriors declined their team option on him last October.
Igor Kokoskov has Jared Dudley‘s endorsement as the Suns search for a new head coach, Scott Bordow of the Arizona Republic reports. Kokoskov, 46, was instrumental in drawing up plays when Lindsey Hunter was Phoenix’s interim coach in 2013, according to Dudley. Kokoskov, who has interviewed for the Suns job, is currently a Jazz assistant. “It’s not like Igor is young,” Dudley said. “He’s had plenty of experience. It’s like Brett Brown in Philadelphia and Mike Budenholzer in Atlanta. They put the right staff around them. That’s the critical part. I think he’s shown he deserves the opportunity.”

Ettore Messina To Remain Spurs’ Coach For Game 5

April 23rd, 2018 at 12:09pm CST by Luke Adams

Top Spurs assistant Ettore Messina will continue to serve as the club’s interim head coach for Game 5 of its series against the Warriors on Tuesday, the team announced today. It will be Messina’s third game as head coach this series.

Messina is filling in for Gregg Popovich, who is away from the team mourning the death of his wife Erin. The Spurs will give Popovich as much time as needs, so it’s not clear if we’ll see him again on the sidelines this season.

The Spurs currently trail the Warriors 3-1, with Messina having helped lead the team to a victory at home in Game 4. In order to further extend the series, San Antonio will need to pick up a victory in Oakland, which will be no easy task — the Dubs haven’t lost a home playoff game since Game 7 of the 2016 NBA Finals, having won 11 in a row since then.

Messina is on the Hornets’ list of candidates to interview for the head coaching job in Charlotte. If the Spurs had been swept, Messina likely would’ve met with the Hornets within the next few days, but that interview will remain on hold until San Antonio’s season is over.

Southwest Notes: Ginobili, Spurs, Pelicans, Nowitzki

April 23rd, 2018 at 11:17am CST by Luke Adams

While the Warriors would have liked to close out the Spurs on Sunday afternoon and start preparing for the second round, head coach Steve Kerr admitted that it’s hard not to enjoy watching Manu Ginobili continue to have success at age 40. As Michael C. Wright of ESPN.com details, Kerr said after Sunday’s game that he’d like to see Ginobili continue his playing career.

“I think he should come back two more years,” Kerr said. “I smiled when he made that corner three right in front of us at the end of the game. It was just so typical Manu: [40] years old and 16 points, and hits the clinching three. He’s Manu. That’s what he does. I know he’s old because he was my teammate, and I’m old as dirt. So, if I played with him, he must be old.”

While Ginobili will have a decision to make this offseason on whether or not to keep playing, for now he can look ahead to Game 5 — the Spurs will aim to pull out another win over the Dubs on Tuesday to further extend the series.

Here’s more from around the Southwest:

The Spurs‘ offseason hasn’t started yet, but it figures to be an eventful one, as Jeff McDonald of The San Antonio Express-News writes. In addition to figuring out whether Ginobili will be back, the team will also have to address the futures of longtime San Antonio mainstays Tony Parker and Kawhi Leonard. Parker will be an unrestricted free agent, while Leonard’s long-term future with the franchise has been called into question due to reported tension between his camp and the Spurs.
No team has been more impressive so far in the postseason than the Pelicans, prompting Kevin O’Connor of The Ringer to explore how DeMarcus Cousins may or may not fit into the equation in New Orleans next season and beyond. Cousins, recovering from an Achilles injury, is an unrestricted free agent this summer.
Dirk Nowitzki, who intends to return in 2018/19 for his 21st season with the Mavericks, provided an update over the weekend on his surgically repaired left ankle. Nowitzki will have the stitches removed today as his rehab progresses. Dwain Price of Mavs.com has the details.

Lakers Could Head List of Leonard Suitors

April 22nd, 2018 at 4:54pm CST by Dana Gauruder

The Lakers might be the logical landing spot if the Spurs decide not to offer Kawhi Leonard a supermax deal or if he tells them he’ll walk after next season, Gary Washburn of the Boston Globe speculates. Leonard can opt out of his deal next summer and the Spurs would want to acquire assets rather than wind up with nothing, as the Thunder experienced when Kevin Durant bolted, Washburn continues. The Lakers have enough assets to make such a deal happen, but the Celtics would likely decline the Spurs’ advances if they were asked to give up Jaylen Brown and Jayson Tatum and a first-rounder for him, Washburn adds.

Ime Udoka To Interview With Hornets

April 22nd, 2018 at 11:23am CST by Arthur Hill

The Hornets will interview Ime Udoka for their head coaching vacancy this week, tweets Adrian Wojnarowski of ESPN. An assistant in San Antonio, Udoka joins fellow Spurs assistant Ettore Messina and former Grizzlies coach David Fizdale on Charlotte’s interview list.

Udoka has been an assistant to Gregg Popovich for the past six years after concluding his playing career in San Antonio in 2010/11. He played seven NBA seasons, also spending time with the Trail Blazers, Kings, Knicks and Lakers.

Keep up to date with all the latest coaching news with our NBA Head Coaching Search Tracker.

Hornets To Interview Fizdale, Messina

April 21st, 2018 at 3:10pm CST by Arthur Hill

David Fizdale and Ettore Messina will both have interviews with Charlotte in the next few days, tweets Adrian Wojnarowski of ESPN.

Fizdale has been a popular name since the season ended, interviewing for the opening in Phoenix with another interview upcoming for the job in New York. A longtime assistant in Miami, he led the Grizzlies to the playoffs last year before being fired 19 games into this season.

Messina, considered among the world’s top international coaches, has been an assistant in San Antonio for the past four seasons and is filling in for Gregg Popovich in the playoffs after his wife’s death. The Spurs granted permission last weekend for Messina to interview with the Hornets.

Stay up to date with all the latest developments on the coaching front with our Coaching Search Tracker.

Ettore Messina To Coach Spurs In Game 4

April 21st, 2018 at 11:53am CST by marksuleymanov

Assistant coach Ettore Messina will reprise his role from Wednesday and serve as the head coach for the Spurs for Game 4 of San Antonio’s first-round series against the Warriors tomorrow, tweets Jabari Young of the San Antonio Express-News.

Messina is filling in for Gregg Popovich, who is away from the team mourning the death of his wife Erin. With San Antonio down 3-0 to Golden State, it’s possible that tomorrow is the Spurs’ final game of the season. If the series resumes, it’s unclear if Popovich will take his regular seat for the remainder of the series.

Messina is reportedly a top candidate for a head coaching job this offseason and has received interest from the Hornets, who are on the lookout for Steve Clifford‘s replacement. San Antonio granted Charlotte permission to interview Messina, which will likely take place after the Spurs’ season is complete. For now, Messina’s focus will be to stave off elimination.

Latest On Knicks’ Head Coaching Search

April 20th, 2018 at 9:00pm CST by Austin Kent

9:00pm: The Knicks will meet with Mike Budenholzer on Sunday, Ian Begley of ESPN tweets.

7:48pm: Add James Borrego to the list of candidates scheduled to interview with the Knicks regarding their coaching vacancy. Ian Begley and Adrian Wojnarowski of ESPN report that the current Spurs assistant has been granted permission to interview for the position.

Borrego was previously linked as a potential Suns candidate although it wasn’t known at the time whether he had been granted permission to interview there.

Worth noting is that Borrego worked with Knicks general manager Scott Perry in Orlando between 2012 and 2015, serving as an assistant and eventually interim head coach prior to joining San Antonio.

Here’s more on the search for a new Knicks’ coach:

Representatives from the franchise will travel abroad to interview David Blatt this week. Wojnarowski and Begley write that Blatt has a strong relationship with Knicks president Steve Mills but doesn’t have a relationship with Perry.
For what it’s worth, the ESPN scribes say that Jerry Stackhouse and David Fizdale both made strong cases for themselves in their previously conducted interviews.
And finally, Kenny Smith‘s interview with the franchise is now in the books, although the ESPN piece gives no indication of how it went. Smith is a native of New York but has no coaching experience.

Hornets' Meeting With Messina May Take Place Next Week

April 20th, 2018 at 12:19pm CST by Luke Adams

As we relayed last weekend, the Hornets have been granted permission to interview Spurs assistant Ettore Messina for their open head coaching position. With Messina’s Spurs still alive in the postseason – and Gregg Popovich away from the team to be with his family following the death of his wife – the veteran assistant isn’t currently available for that interview. But he may be soon.

As Rick Bonnell of The Charlotte Observer writes, the Hornets intend to move quickly to meet with Messina once the Spurs’ season is over. With San Antonio trailing Golden State 3-0, that series could end as early as Sunday. And according to Bonnell, the meeting between the Hornets and Messina is currently on track to take place in the middle of next week, unless the Spurs can win a couple games against the Warriors and extend the series.

Lakers To Pursue Kawhi Leonard Trade?

April 19th, 2018 at 11:58am CST by Luke Adams

The Clippers apparently aren’t the only L.A. team considering pursuing a trade for Kawhi Leonard during the coming offseason. According to Sean Deveney of The Sporting News, front-office sources around the NBA believe that the Lakers will also make Leonard a top target over the summer.

Leonard remains under contract with the Spurs for at least one more season, but a season-long saga has seemingly created friction between the two sides, as Spurs doctors and Leonard’s doctors have disagreed on the status of the forward’s quad injury. While there has still been no indication out of San Antonio that the Spurs will seriously explore trading their best player, teams are keeping a close eye on the situation and will be ready to inquire on Leonard’s availability.

As Deveney writes, the Lakers are viewed as a top candidate to pursue Leonard given their future cap flexibility. The Lakers are expected to have enough room for two maximum-salary free agents this offseason, but could also use that cap flexibility to sign a top free agent in 2019 or to trade for a star.

Additionally, Leonard is a Los Angeles native and at least one executive who spoke to Deveney believes that Leonard is angling to eventually land in his hometown. A separate general manager suggested that the Lakers look like the most logical landing spot if Leonard is moved.

“He’s going to be their target any way you look at it, this summer or next summer,” the GM told Deveney. “There’s not many other ways to explain what’s been going on with that situation other than him trying to get out of San Antonio.

“That’s the thing to watch,” the GM continued. “It might be a pipe dream for them to get two max guys this summer, but if they have a player like Leonard who wants to be in L.A.? They’d have to make that happen now.”

It’s hard to imagine Leonard making an explicit trade request that goes public like Paul George did with the Pacers last summer, but it’ll still be interesting to see whether the way the Lakers handled the George situation impacts the way they go after Leonard. The Lakers were viewed as a prime trade suitor for George, but there were questions about whether to give up much for him since he could sign with the team outright as a free agent a year later. Now, he’s a member of the Thunder and he’s no lock to leave Oklahoma City. Magic Johnson and Rob Pelinka may find themselves in a similar situation with Leonard during the 2018 offseason, weighing just how hard they should push for a trade if the Spurs are really willing to listen.

Of course, the Spurs and Leonard could put trade and free agency speculation to rest entirely if they agree to a contract extension this July. If Leonard doesn’t accept an extension offer right away though – or if the Spurs don’t put that offer on the table at all – the trade rumors surrounding him only figure to grow louder.