The Denver Nuggets have been searching for a reliable coach after the firing of Brian Shaw in March, and has finally decided to hire a coach who was also fired earlier in the season: former Sacramento Kings’ coach Mike Malone.
Malone made quite the impression on general manager Tim Connelly and president Josh Kroenke during their meetings, and has reportedly signed a four-year deal with Denver, according to Adrian Wojnarowski of Yahoo Sports:
Michael Malone has reached agreement on a four-year deal to become coach of the Denver Nuggets, league sources told Yahoo Sports.
The fourth year of the deal is a team option, sources said.
Malone made the strongest impression with general manager Tim Connelly and president Josh Kroenke in meetings with Denver’s management and overtook interim coach Melvin Hunt to win the job, sources said.
Malone was controversially fired by the Kings in December, entering his second season as the coach. He finished 39-67 overall, but many thought he had Sacramento headed in the right direction, given the circumstances. However, an illness to center DeMarcus Cousins derailed the direction of the team:
Despite Sacramento’s stunning decision to fire Malone as its coach early in the 2014-15 season – his second year on the job – the work Malone had done to create more professionalism and focus with star center DeMarcus Cousins had earned him praise and respect around the NBA.
With Cousins hospitalized becauseillness, the Kings fired Malone after an 11-13 start. In two years on the job, Malone was 39-67 after taking over a full-blown rebuilding project.
Malone will be reunited with former Kings general manager Pete D’Alessandro, who recently took a front-office job to return back to Denver. D’Alessandro hired Malone to be the Kings’ head coach but was forced by owner Vivek Ranadive to fire him.
Malone had been a longtime assistant in the NBA before getting hired by Sacramento to be its head coach.
Embiid could sit out another season
With reports coming out Saturday of a setback in his rehab, Keith Pompey of the Philadelphia Inquirer is reporting 76ers center Joel Embiid could miss the entire 2015-2016 season:
76ers center Joel Embiid may not be available to play at the start of the NBA season after the latest setback in the healing of his right foot, an NBA source said Sunday. There’s also a legitimate chance that the 7-footer could miss the entire season.
The third selection in the 2014 draft, Embiid was a highly coveted prospect from Kansas and could have been taken No. 1 overall, but a severe break in the navicular bone in his right foot ruined those chances. He missed what would have been his rookie season after undergoing surgery last June to fix the stress fracture:
An Eastern Conference executive, said Sunday that the 76ers’ rebuilding plan is doomed if Embiid is unable to remain healthy or play at a high level.
“He was their guy,” said the executive, who spoke on condition of anonymity. “They were hoping he was a franchise player. If he’s not a franchise player, their whole plan is gone. . . . If Embiid can’t play or if he can’t reach a superstar level, their plan is really in trouble.”
Philadelphia will again have the third overall selection in this year’s draft and was looking for a player to pair with forward Nerlens Noel and Embiid. With Embiid possibly out for another year, the 76ers could be looking at another lottery selection in 2016.
Los Angeles Clippers acquire Lance Stephenson:
After losing to the Houston Rockets in the conference semifinals, Doc Rivers has decided to shake things up in a big (and perhaps controversial) way for the Los Angeles Clippers. Wojnarowski of Yahoo Sports has the breaking news:
The Clippers have acquired Lance Stephenson in a trade that sends Spencer Hawes and Matt Barnes to Charlotte, league sources tell Yahoo.
— Adrian Wojnarowski (@WojYahooNBA) June 16, 2015
With J.J. Redick still on the team, it appears the plan may be to start Stephenson as the small forward. We’ll have plenty of time to break down what this means for the Clippers on both ends of the floor, but Rivers still has plenty of work to do after trading away seldom-used backup center Hawes.
Al Jefferson exercises option to remain in Charlotte
Charlotte Hornets center Al Jefferson decided to use his player option Tuesday to opt-in for the 2015-2016, team general manager Rich Cho announced.
Jefferson missed 17 games last season due to injury but still had a solid season for the Hornets. Read more NBA.com:
Jefferson appeared in 65 games with 61 starts last season, averaging 16.6 points, 8.4 rebounds, 1.7 assists and 1.3 blocks in 30.6 minutes. He ranked 19th in the NBA in rebounding, tied for 22nd in blocks, ranked 33rd in field-goal percentage (.481) and tied for 33rd in scoring. Despite missing 17 games due to injury, Jefferson led the team with 53 double-figure scoring games, 23 games of 20 points or more, 24 double-figure rebounding games and 22 double-doubles.
ESPN’s Marc Stein was the first to report Jefferson’s decision over this past weekend, but Cho announced Tuesday it was official. Jefferson, who signed in 2013 with the team, made All-NBA Third Team in the 2013-2014 season after averaging 21.8 points and 10.8 rebounds. He also led the team to 22 more wins than the previous season:
He was the only player in the Eastern Conference and one of only five players in the NBA to average over 20.0 points and 10.0 rebounds. He finished the season ranked eighth in the NBA in rebounding, 11th in scoring, 23rd in field goal percentage (.509), 29th in blocks (1.1) and tied for 30th in minutes played (35.0).
With the move to opt-in to the final year of his contract, which will pay him $13.5 million, Jefferson is expected to be part of the star-filled 2016 free agency class – a class which includes the likes of Kevin Durant, LeBron James, Joakim Noah and Al Horford.
Jefferson will be looking to cash in as the NBA salary cap is expected to make a $22 million hike for the 2016-2017 season.
Other News From Around the League:
Golden State Warriors guard Stephen Curry is expected to be ready for Game 6 after experiencing symptoms of dehydration after Sunday’s 104-91 win over the Cleveland Cavaliers, ESPN reports: “After his postgame news conference, the league MVP appeared to be in discomfort as his father, Dell Curry, and Warriors security guard Ralph Walker ushered him to the locker room. Once there, Curry received drinking fluids to relieve the dehydration. Curry was watching SportsCenter highlights of the game while receiving treatment, according to the team. Curry will be on the team’s flight to Cleveland at 1 p.m. ET and should be “fine” going forward, the team said. He is expected to play in Game 6 of the NBA Finals on Tuesday, when the Warriors have a chance to win their first title in 40 years.”
The Atlanta Hawks are expecting forward and soon to be free agent DeMarre Carroll to ask for a four-year deal worth up to $50 million, ESPN’s Kevin Arnovitz is reporting: “Sources say the Hawks are bracing themselves for an asking price of 4 years and $50 million — and given the postseason Carroll put together and the interest around the league, possibly even more. If the price tag is much higher than that, there’s good reason to believe the flexibility-minded Hawks could bow out, though their strong preference is to retain Carroll, who has been an essential cog in their two-way success.” Carroll known as a defensive specialist, averaged 12.6 points a game and grabbed 5.3 rebounds per contest while shooting 39.5 percent from beyond the arc.
Vlade Divac, who is in charge of running the Sacramento King’s front office, has been dealing with questions about whether to trade star center DeMarcus Cousins or build around him. In a Q and A Divac did with NBA.com’s David Aldridge, the former Kings star addressed what he’d like to see Cousins do better and whether or not he would entertain the notion of trading him “(DA): What does he need to improve on? VD: Well, I think he just has to be a leader, make sure that he makes everybody better on the floor. Everything else, I think he’s right on target. He’s just so powerful, can dominate in the low post. He can play outside. He can play sometimes four, sometimes five. He’s a very smart basketball player. He has very great potential. (DA): So you wouldn’t entertain any offers for him at this time? VD: Well, if it’s Michael Jordan there, I’ll think about it. (Laughs)”
NBA Commissioner Adam Silver said Sunday during halftime of Game 5 of the Finals between the Cavaliers and Warriors, the CBA is a ‘very fair deal’ and doesn’t think there will be a lockout in 2017: “I think we have a very fair deal right now. I think the deal is designed to pay players a percentage of revenue so it self-adjusts as revenue goes up. And when the new television deal kicks in in 2016-17, the players are going to be averaging over $8 million a year. I think, again, it’s a fair deal. If there’s things they want to talk about, of course we’ll talk about them. But I’m not overly concerned. I think we’ve got a great thing going right now. I think both sides recognize that.”
Three-time champion and Miami Heat guard Dwyane Wade attended Harvard’s Business School for a week. Wade was a part of a group with former player Jerry Stackhouse and Brooklyn Nets forward Mason Plumlee who took the course in studying graduate-level business theories: “‘To come here and get away from being the athlete, the star, the superstar, whatever they want to call you and to be someone who had to study until 2, 2:30 at night and be up the next day at 8 in the morning for a study group, that is cool — especially right now with what’s out there,” Wade said in a telephone interview. “But this was a good getaway, for sure.” What’s “out there” is this: His relationship with the Heat is strained like never before. Wade is under contract for $16.1 million for the 2015-16 season, though he can opt out and become a free agent on July 1. Leaving Miami is a possibility. Wade has not said specifically where things stand with the Heat, and the Harvard class wasn’t scheduled for contract-prepping purposes.”This had been on my schedule for months,” said Wade, who will return to ABC as an NBA Finals analyst for Game 6 on Tuesday night in Cleveland.”
Oklahoma City Thunder’s star forward Kevin Durant is finding motivation by watching Curry and James play in the NBA Finals, ESPN’s Royce White reports. Durant, who missed the rest of the season after undergoing a bone graft procedure to fix his foot, is looking forward to getting back on the court: “But after three surgeries to repair a fracture in his right foot that caused him to miss 55 games this past season, the 2014 MVP understands why his name has slipped from a lot of minds as fans marvel at James’ and Stephen Curry’s electrifying performances in the NBA Finals. “It used to piss me off, but I love it now,” Durant told ESPN.com. “Just gotta show and prove. I don’t deserve to be up there with them this year. Next year is a different story.”
Odus Evbagharu is a blogger for Sheridan Hoops and you can follow him on Twitter: @iamodus_