It appears Warriors assistant coach Mike Malone may be the favorite to become the head coach of the Sacramento Kings next season, from Marcus Thompson of Mercury News: “It appears Warriors assistant coach Michael Malone, who has been in the running for head coaching jobs each of the last three offseasons, appears to be in line for the Sacramento job. The NBA announced Tuesday the Board of Governors approved the sale of the Kings to the group lead by Vivek Ranadive, minority owner of the Warriors. But the new ownership group has already been scouting new people to lead its franchise, so GM Geoff Petrie and head coach Keith Smart are expected to be out. Malone is reportedly a strong candidate to replace him, with one report calling him a “lock.”… Warriors sources confirmed the reports that Malone is a serious candidate. One source said it wasn’t official but “it looks like it’s heading that direction.”
Stan Van Gundy explained why Steve Clifford is a good hire for the Charlotte Bobcats, from Rick Bonnell of Charlotte Observer: “Former Orlando Magic coach Stan Van Gundy was Steve Clifford’s boss for six years. He praises the Charlotte Bobcats’ next coach in all the predictable ways: Organized, detail-oriented, tactically innovative … Then you ask Van Gundy what is distinctive about Clifford’s profile. “What sets him apart is he can walk the line,” Van Gundy told the Observer Tuesday. “He’s a demanding guy, but he’s very, very good with people. He has an engaging personality.”… “Steve was assigned individual work with our forwards. Hedo Turkoglu is a very talented guy who can get lazy,” Van Gundy said. “Steve was great at showing him (what he was doing wrong) with just a few clips” of video… “He doesn’t overwhelm people,” Van Gundy said. “NBA coaching is so much about deciding priorities – what goes the furthest in making you better… “The other thing about Steve is he knows when to push hard and when just to crack a joke. … He’s very even-keeled. When we lost five in a row or won five in a row, he was the same guy. Not ‘We stink!’ or ‘We’re great!’ ”
Jared Dudley is excited about the hiring of Jeff Hornacek as the coach of the Phoenix Suns, from Dave Dulberg of Arizona Sports: “”We all remember Jeff as a player, how he was a great player and a hard-working player,” Dudley said Tuesday. “Most of us that are my age, know him from [his days in] Utah. He was probably just as good a player in his prime when he was in Phoenix, but obviously in Utah he played against Jordan and had all those highlights. “But he was an ex-player with the Suns, so it kind of brings that back full circle. It kind of creates a little bit more good buzz. Players like myself are excited, because we needed a little change… We’re trying to build for the future.”… “Me and Jeff Hornacek we don’t have the great physical abilities of someone else, but what I’ve seen from him, he was a hard worker as a player,” said Dudley. “I heard good things from different players in Utah about him being a shooting coach and everyone liking him. That’s kind of my style: hard-working, team guy and guys liking me. “I’m excited to get to work with him. Any time you bring in need blood and new energy it turns out pretty good.”
Lance Stephenson was a killer against the Heat in Game 4, both offensively and defensively. Phil Richards of Indystar has details: “And with Paul George in foul trouble, he took his defensive turns on Heat ace LeBron James… “He asked to guard him,” Pacers coach Frank Vogel said. “He’s a competitor. We know Paul is getting worn out a little bit guarding LeBron the whole game that he’s in there. “Lance said, ‘Let me share some of the load.’ He wants to rise to the challenge.”… “I think he made some great loose-ball plays in terms of offensive rebounding,” Vogel said. “He had a big putback. “He made a couple of low-clock shots that were huge shots at the end of the third quarter, the 3-pointer and then a couple late in the shot clock.” Stephenson did whatever was needed, and he did it aggressively. “That’s what we need from him,” said forward David West, who scored 14 points after a slow start. “We need him to be a major, major factor for us and not just his scoring, but just his aggressiveness, putting pressure on them to guard him every single time he’s got the ball.”
- According to Marc Stein of ESPN, the Milwaukee Bucks may prefer to keep Monta Ellis over Brandon Jennings:
And a free-agent rumble: There's a rising belief in exec circles that Bucks prefer to re-sign Monta Ellis over Brandon Jennings this summer
@ESPNSteinLine
Marc Stein
Monta will become an unrestricted free agent July 1 if he opts out of his current deal by June 20. Jennings will be a restricted free agent
@ESPNSteinLine
Marc Stein
Bucks still have coaching choice to make: Larry Drew or Kelvin Sampson. But in backcourt there is sense they prefer Monta/Redick next season
@ESPNSteinLine
Marc Stein
Rebounding has been a key factor in the series between the Heat and Miami. Roy Hibbert and LeBron James both touched on the subject, from Brian Windhorst of ESPN: “In the fourth quarter of Game 4, Hibbert came up with three vital offensive rebounds that submarined the Heat’s chance to put a 3-1 chokehold on the series. He finished with 23 points and 12 rebounds. I’m 275 [pounds]. I gotta throw my body around,” Hibbert said. “It’s a mental thing, really. Do you want to go in there and bang with LeBron, Chris Bosh and Birdman [Andersen] or would you rather just be on the outskirts?” Hibbert has 26 offensive rebounds alone in the four games, and it’s ruining the Heat’s usually effective defense. The Pacers had 15 offensive rebounds in Game 4 and a 49-30 overall rebounding edge. This is the definition of their game plan working. “We can’t afford to get beat on the glass by 20 [rebounds]. Can’t happen,” said James, who is leading the Heat in rebounding in the series at seven per game. “As a collective group, we can’t allow that.”
- For what it’s worth, Erik Spoelstra says rebounding will definitely be a focus heading into Game 5, from Chris Tomasson of Fox Sports Florida: “Erik Spoelstra says rebounding will “be our focus in Game 5.’’ “We just have to do better,’’ Spoelstra said after his team was killed 49-30 on the boards in Game 4. “We have to be more committed without any excuses and just get it done. That’s what it’s going to take. We’re capable of it, so that will our focus in Game 5.’
Already Cleveland seems to be dangling the #1 pick for Kevin Love, but more realistically, the #1 pick for DeMarcus Cousins makes sense.
The most telling response by the Memphis GM, despite trying to be careful with his words:
“Certainly Lionel WAS a great asset for us”.
Hollins clearly won’t be back with Grizz, at least not at the $5-7 million range.
However, I don’t believe the statement by Hollins, that Grizz will delay until July 1. They want to resolve their coaching situation quickly too.
However, HOLD ON, if people think Billy King has Hollins as his #1 choice:
RT @PeterVecsey1 Cannot envision BK hiring Hollins. His personality is to dominate players. That worked w Conley & Gasol. Not so with Deron & Lopez.
Peter Vecsey has a good relation with Billy King, and usually knows his thinking.
Nets can certainly pay at least $7 million per year for Hollins, if he is their target.
Byron Scott would be a much more inexpensive option for the Clippers than Hollins.
Still, makes little sense that Nets won’t at least discuss coaching with Jerry Sloan. The rumors that Jerry left Utah because of Deron Williams, or his excuse that he was “tired” of coaching, is just False. Sloan left because he didn’t like the direction that the new ownership in Utah was going.
Deron Williams has said multiple times he would like to play for Sloan again, and Jerry Sloan has said he is open to Nets. We shall find out pretty soon what the Nets are up to.