Bernucca: Thunder among teams with GM, coach decisions

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Right now, the Oklahoma City Thunder are trying to figure out how to get three more wins over the Miami Heat and claim the NBA championship.

Whether they can do that remains to be seen. But once the Finals are over, the Thunder will have another issue on their hands – putting a coach in place for next season.

Thunder coach Scott Brooks does not have a contract for next season. And while a trip to the NBA Finals makes it seem as if his return is a foregone conclusion, we shouldn’t be so quick to save a slot for him on the sidelines.

Brooks certainly will want more money; the going rate for coaches who reach the Finals is between $4 million and $5 million per year. The Thunder have been highly cost-conscious under GM Sam Presti, who has extension decisions for James Harden, Serge Ibaka and Eric Maynor on the horizon.

And what if the Thunder open a 2-0 lead, then have a maturity meltdown mirroring the Mavericks in 2006 and lose the series? Will Presti be looking for a bigger name who can command more respect from his young roster?

Even if Presti decides to keep Brooks – the likely option – he still may have to fill his own staff as assistant GMs Rob Hennigan and Troy Weaver have been mentioned as candidates for vacancies elsewhere.

Oklahoma City isn’t the only team looking to fill front office positions. Lottery clubs Charlotte and Portland need a coach, and playoff squads Orlando, Atlanta, Indiana, Philadelphia and the Los Angeles Clippers have holes to fill as well.

The draft is just over two weeks away. Free agency negotiation starts July 1. The Las Vegas Summer League begins July 13.

Here’s a look at who needs what:

THE CLIPPERS NEED A GM: They made a quantum leap from lottery laughingstock to the conference semifinals under the stewardship of GM Neil Olshey, who quickly shifted gears from rebuilding with youth to popping for a star when Chris Paul became available. Then owner Donald Sterling lowballed him, and Olshey – after initially agreeing to stay – fled for Portland.

Right now, the list of candidates is a long one. According to the Los Angeles Times, it includes former NBA GM Kiki Vandeweghe, Pacers GM David Morway, former Lakers assistant GM Ronnie Lester, Pistons assistant GM Scott Perry, former Wolves GM Tony Ronzone, Warriors assistant GM Travis Schlenk and Clippers player personnel director Gary Sacks. It’s hard to believe neither Thunder candidate is on the list.

Whomever Andy Roeser hires will be in a tough spot. In addition to a handful of free agents, Blake Griffin is due for an extension, Paul can become a free agent next summer and coach Vinny Del Negro was retained on a one-year deal. All three are intertwined, and if the new hire is unable to placate the superstar duo, the Clippers’ status as a playoff team on the rise will be short-lived.

THE TRAIL BLAZERS NEED A COACH: This isn’t truly a vacancy and is not the first order of
business for Olshey, who has said he will hire a coach after the draft in which he has two lottery picks Stan Van Gundy with handsthat could make the job more appealing. However, he also risks losing his desired candidate to the openings in Orlando and Charlotte.

There has been some speculation that Paul Allen’s millions and a West Coast location could lure Phil Jackson out of retirement to the City of Roses. Keep in mind that Olshey and interim coach Kaleb Canales have the same agent, which may limit how much of a legitimate search is actually conducted.

In mopping up for Nate McMillan, Kanales went 8-15, which gives him a grand total of 23 more games experience than Warriors assistant Michael Malone, who would be a much better hire. A good veteran choice would be Stan Van Gundy, who did a terrific job elevating the Magic.

THE BOBCATS NEED A COACH: This is a huge decision for owner Michael Jordan, who has the cloud of “worst team ever” hanging over his head and needs to show dramatic improvement in his personnel hires both on the court and off. He made a good one with GM Rich Cho; now he has to start listening to the people around him, who simply are better basketball minds than him.

Cho and Bobcats executive (and longtime Jordan crony) Rod Higgins reportedly already have conducted interviews with Pacers assistant Brian Shaw, Lakers assistant Quin Snyder and former Jazz coach Jerry Sloan, who is without a doubt the best available coaching hire on the market not named Phil Jackson. Each is expected to sit with Jordan in the next week. With all due respect to Shaw and Snyder, Jordan should pony up for Sloan, who would provide an infusion of urgency in a frighteningly young roster with his no-nonsense approach to preparation and execution.

THE MAGIC NEED A GM … AND A COACH: Magic CEO Alex Martins topped Orlando Magazine‘s list of “50 Most Powerful People in Orlando.” We’ll see if any influence comes with that power. He was able to convince Dwight Howard to opt in in for next season and then fired GM Otis Smith and coach Stan Van Gundy, which means (a) Howard actually is more powerful than Martins or (b) Martins plans on directing his GM hire to trade Howard, which he apparently wants anyway.

Any incoming GM is going to want to hire his own coach. According to Yahoo!, Martins’ search is down to three candidates – a pair of hot commodities in Hennigan and Spurs assistant GM Dennis Lindsey along with former Hornets GM Jeff Bower. Martins has said he wants the new GM in place before the draft. While the NBA trend of late has been to go young with sabremetrics wonks as GM hires, Bower did show the ability to upgrade the Hornets with limited flexibility, which is where the Magic are until they trade Howard.

Jerry Sloan Deron Willians JazzOnce a GM is hired, coaching candidates include Shaw, Malone, Sloan, former Blazers coach Nate McMillan and Doc Rivers, an extreme long shot given that he has four years remaining on his deal with the Celtics and would cost a heap of cash and draft picks. If Martins actually has the power to keep Howard in town, there is no doubt he will have a huge say in the team’s next coach.

THE PACERS WANT A NEW GM: Given the team’s success this season, this came as somewhat of a surprise. But the truth of the matter is that Pacers president Larry Bird makes the personnel decisions, plans on coming back for the 2012-13 season and has had some friction with Morway, who interviewed for the Portland GM job.

Last week, the Indianapolis Star reported that Bird would like to replace Morway as GM with director of player personnel Kevin Pritchard, who did a remarkable job from transforming the “Jail Blazers” into a 50-win team with smart wheeling and dealing on consecutive draft days before being unceremoniously unloaded one hour before the 2010 draft. As a former NBA teammate, he has Bird’s ear more than does Morway.

THE 76ERS MAY NEED A NEW GM … ALTHOUGH NOT RIGHT AWAY: It seems strange that the Sixers are interviewing candidates to replace president Rod Thorn after their unlikely run to Game 7 of the conference semifinals. But according to the Philadelphia Daily News, Thorn, 71, has an unusual contract calling for three years as president followed by five years as consultant, with the option to move into the latter role earlier.

Thorn actually has a hand in picking his successor, which could come as early as this summer – or as late as next summer. Candidates include Lindsey, Weaver, Bower, Hawks GM Rick Sund, Bucks GM John Hammond and Spurs VP Danny Ferry, who did a solid job of building the Cavaliers into a Finals team around LeBron James and reportedly is considered the frontrunner. A stumbling block may be how much input a new GM may have to give to coach Doug Collins.

THE HAWKS MAY NEED A GM: As stated above, Sund is a possible candidate in Philly because his deal with the Hawks ends later this month. The team denied him permission to speak with the Blazers and sent him to pre-draft camps but still hasn’t re-signed him, even though coach Larry Drew had his option picked up.

Sund is said to be considering a reduced role in a partial retirement. Whether it is Sund or someone else making the decisions, the Hawks are at a crossroads with a bloated payroll that’s good enough to make the playoffs but not good enough to truly contend for a title.

Chris Bernucca is a regular contributor to SheridanHoops.com. His columns appear Wednesday and Sunday. You can follow him on Twitter.

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Dwight Howard picks Thunder to win NBA Finals

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Dwight Howard has spoken, and it should be noted how polite he was to the paparazzo from TMZ.com who caught up with him in Beverly Hills.

To surmise, Howard says he was sorry to see Stan Van Gundy and Otis Smith lose their jobs, he warned that ESPN has an interview in the can is now outdated — ” A lot of stuff has changed since then” — and made a prediction on who will win the NBA championship.

He likes the Oklahoma City Thunder.

Here is the clip from TMZ.com. More from me blow the video.

In other Dwight Howard news, Josh Robbins of the Orlando Sentinel had this to say about my report yesterday that the Orlando Magic have already decided that they will trade Dwight Howard, and they are waiting to learn the results of the draft lottery before taking their next step.

“Two sources familiar with the Magic’s thinking said a report Thursday by the website SheridanHoops.com that the team has decided to trade Howard is not true. However, (team CEO Alex) Martins already has stated publicly that the franchise will not go into the 2012-13 season with uncertainty about Howard’s future, meaning that the team will trade Howard if he doesn’t sign an extension or provides no clarity on his plans this offseason. Rumors continue to swirl that Howard wants to be traded — that he cannot be swayed to stay long-term by any new hire the Magic make.

For the record, I respect Josh and his colleagues at the Sentinel, who do a fantastic job. Josh has his sources, and I have mine. I guarantee you they are not the same sources.

So I stand behind yesterday’s report 100 percent, just as I stand by my report from earlier this week that Howard has already made up his mind that he wants to be traded sooner rather than later. If you want to speculate on how the Brooklyn Nets or New York Knicks can trade for him, we’ve got you covered there, too.

For even more on Howard, check out yesterday’s live chat, and give a listen to an interview I did on that subject and plenty of others on XTRA-910 radio in Phoenix yesterday with longtime colleague and Olympic coverage comrade Dan Bickley.

 

 

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Heisler: It’s Magic! Now you see 7-foot superstar, now you don’t

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Dwight Howard’s decision to stay another season didn’t turn out to be such good news for the Magic, after all?

Gosh, who’d have thunk it?

Before zeroing in on the Magic, I should note, in fairness, it’s hardly the NBA’s only dysfunctional organization.

Actually, as a former GM noted the other day, dysfunction is the rule, not the exception.

Take the Lakers.

They’ve been as sharp as anyone despite a sibling rivalry between Jim and Jeannie Buss, with father Jerry supporting Jim and former coach Phil Jackson supporting Jeannie, backed tacitly by Kobe Bryant, who all but shared a brain with Phil at the end.

The Trail Blazers are a monument to dysfunction looking for their fourth GM in four seasons as owner Paul Allen, surrounded by bloodless, Seattle-based Vulcan Corp. lieutenants, moans about losing money.

With a $13 billion personal fortune, five times that of Mark Cuban, who lost tens of millions and never uttered a peep, Allen spearheaded the movement to prolong the lockout to force a Draconian agreement on the players.

Unfortunately, no labor deal could make up for the team’s fall after years of corporate second-guessing and infighting in the wake of the injuries to Greg Oden and Brandon Roy.

Take Atlanta, please.

As promising as the Hawks are, or were, the search for an owner continues after eight years of being bought, sold and seeing the new owners sue each other.

If Orlando’s organization isn’t as screwed up as the Trail Blazers and Hawks, the Magic is the one with the superstar center whose next move will reconfigure the NBA’s balance of power.

Yes! It’s just like their last superstar center, Shaquille O’Neal, who reconfigured the balance of power from his departure when he left to join the Lakers in 1996 to his last title in Miami in 2006.

The Magic organization isn’t as much dysfunctional as lame, with the DeVos family casually monitoring the goings-on from Michigan.

The man on scene was son-in-law Bob VanderWeide from the early years when Shaq and Penny Hardaway took them to the 1996 Finals… to the lost years after losing Shaq… to their rebirth, after lucking into another No. 1 pick who became the game’s best big man.

The Magic didn’t screw things up with Howard, a unique guy with joy in his heart, a warrior ethic on the floor, a stubborn streak off it, and few clues in general.

The organization has been looking down the barrel of this cannon for years as Dwight signaled he was leaving as soon as his deal ran out.

The one the Magic screwed up was Shaq, who, for all his distress about being a whale in a goldfish bowl, wanted to stay, having built a mansion there—which he returned to every summer after leaving town—and moving his mother and sisters there.

Showing that ownership involvement doesn’t solve everything, paterfamilias Rich DeVos ran that negotiation personally.

Conservative and idealistic, his priority was running a principled organization. To him, that meant avoiding an unseemly bidding war, noting he told Shaq, “I want your heart, not just your body.”

DeVos also wanted to keep the price down, noting he would have to give Penny Hardaway, then ownership’s fair-haired young player, just as much in a year.

Unfortunately, that meant lowballing Shaq, starting with a four-year offer, increasing it only as the Lakers increased theirs.

At $99 million, Shaq turned the Lakers down–since his priority was getting more than Alonzo Mourning’s $105 mill.

The Lakers sent Anthony Peeler and George Lynch to Vancouver—with the rest of the West going “No! No!” as GM Stu Jackson signed off–enabling the Lakers to offer $117 million.

The Magic, which could offer anything it wanted, matched the $117 million, pointing out its enhanced value with more up front and no 8% state income tax, like California’s.

Shaq, who obviously wanted DeVos’s heart as much as his money, bolted, turning out the lights on their four-year party in Orlando.

Amazingly, as Portland was once faced with an excruciating choice between a big man and Michael Jordan and years later, another one between Oden and Kevin Durant, the Magic is once again looking at losing the game’s top center.
Unlike O’Neal, Howard’s first instinct is to go.

It’s also Dwight’s second, third and fourth instinct. We don’t know if he has any desire whatsoever to stay… but to date, he has turned down all extension offers.

With Magic officials understandably strung out, VanderWeide admitted to having had a few glasses of wine at a party before placing a late-night call to Howard.

Howard’s people said VanderWeide had called in the early hours of the morning, under the influence, begging Dwight to say.

In any case, VanderWeide then resigned.

His replacement, Alex Martins, wasn’t a family member, but a long-time Magic retainer who worked his way up from team publicist.

With Howard’s family and friends in Orlando recoiling from the negative publicity, Dwight did a 180 at the trade deadline, opting in, with the team claiming that otherwise it would have traded him to the Lakers.

Amidst the rejoicing and talk of loyalty in Orlando, Coach Stan Van Gundy noted the whole thing would start over this summer.

It turned out even that was too optimistic, starting over within weeks.

Van Gundy had already spent four seasons dealing with Howard’s immaturity to help him realize his potential.

When Van Gundy arrived, Howard’s repertoire consisted of dunks. Now he shoots jump hooks with both hands, knocks down the occasional mid-range jumper and has been the Defensive Player of the Year the last three seasons.

Dwight fought Stan Van Gundy every inch of the way, as when he criticized the coach’s game plan after the Magic fell behind the Celtics, 3-2, in their second-round series in 2009.

This was taken as a death knell… whereupon Orlando won Games 6-7, then upended LeBron James’ Cavaliers in the East Finals, before the Lakers took the Magic out in five games.

The Finals turned on Game 2 in Staples Center where Van Gundy diagrammed an inbounds play that sucked in Bryant, who chased the ball and lost his man, Courtney Lee, who then missed the layup that would have tied the series, 1-1, going back to Orlando.

“Just a hell of a play by a hell of a coach,” said Bryant.

Unfortunately for the Magic, that was as good as it got.

The Lakers then polished them off.

GM Otis Smith let Hedo Turkoglu walk because he wanted too much, and traded for Vince Carter, then took Turkoglu back—making $9 million per—to get rid of Carter.

Amazingly, they continued on their improbable way with Dwight continuing to roll his eyes at Stan and the team winning 59 and then 52 the last two seasons.

Despite this season’s din of distractions that saw them start 12-9, they were 22-13 at the trade deadline when Dwight did his U-turn.

After that, things went back to normal, with Dwight and fellow co-captain Jameer Nelson making a show of not joining the huddle in a March 28 wipeout in New York.

Now with everyone focused on changes Dwight would need to stay, it wasn’t forgotten like all his other displays of insubordination.

Finally, Van Gundy, noting he hated BS more than anything, said someone at “the top” of the organization told him Howard wanted him fired.

Van Gundy has since been pilloried for not keeping Howard’s secret and hurting Dwight’s feelings.

Van Gundy, undone by O’Neal in Miami—prompting Shaq, now a TV commentator to note he couldn’t discuss details of their relationship—took this job determined to do what he thought best and let the chips fall where they would.

It was remarkable that Stan, the no-BS guy, took Dwight’s this long, and the only reason they accomplished as much and lasted as long.

Van Gundy and Otis Smith are now dead men walking, with Howard yet to show he won’t put them through this all over again next season.

The answer is clear, if painful: Trade him this summer unless he extends.

Not that they’re the only franchise like this, but the Magic didn’t get here by knowing which way is up.

Mark Heisler is a regular contributor to SheridanHoops, LakersNation and the Old Gray Lady. His power rankings appear Wednesday and his columns appear Thursday. Follow him on Twitter.

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Trade talk: Howard wants Magic to get Nash, Rondo on the block

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Dwight Howard has asked the Orlando Magic for a lot, hasn’t he?

Over the past couple of years, Howard has asked management to try to acquire a handful of players, including Monta Ellis and Deron Williams.

During the preseason, he asked for a trade. Then he asked that any trade be limited to a handful of teams – the New Jersey Nets, Los Angeles Lakers and Dallas Mavericks — that his agent was given permission to talk to.

Now, Howard apparently again is asking the Magic to acquire a player. But not just any player – Steve Nash. As in two-time MVP Steve Nash. As in pick-and-roll genius Steve Nash. As in model of unselfishness Steve Nash.

Howard reportedly won’t opt out of his contract this summer if the Magic can acquire Nash, who becomes a free agent this summer.

From Alex Kennedy of Hoopsworld: “The Orlando Magic has made offers for Nash in the past and sources close to the situation say that they’ll attempt to acquire the 16-year veteran in the next two weeks. Dwight Howard has asked the front office to pursue Nash and sources close to Howard believe he won’t exercise his early termination option if the team is able to acquire Nash and re-sign him this summer.”

The report did not say Howard would sign an extension with the Magic. Rather, he would stick around for another season – at a groovy $19.2 million – and take a longer look at what Orlando offers, with the benefit of a full training camp and an 82-game season.

Prying Nash away from the Suns won’t be easy. As we discussed in Thursday’s Trade Talk, he is committed to playing out the season with the Suns and will not ask the team for a trade, preferring to enter free agency – where he will get more attention than any 38-year-old in NBA history.

In addition, the Magic have nothing to offer the Suns in terms of cap relief. They do have desirable players in Ryan Anderson and J.J. Redick and would certainly have to surrender at least one of them in a deal for Nash. Incorporating a third team might be their only route.

But the continuing uncertainty around Howard’s future in Florida has not deterred Magic CEO Alex Martins, who still believes his superstar can be convinced to stay in Orlando.

From Mike Bianchi of the Orlando Sentinel: “Martins said on our radio show Thursday that he still believes the Magic can convince Howard that Orlando is the best place for him to win a championship. “We have a couple of weeks until the trade deadline, which is a critical point on the calendar to determine how we can move forward together,”  Martins said of the ongoing Dwight saga.  “Our conversations with Dwight continue, and I feel good about the conversations we’ve had. … I’ve said all along our reason for not trading Dwight at the beginning of the season is that time would be on our side one way or another. Time would be on our side in the fact that we could work with Dwight to address his needs and ultimately convince him to stay. Or time would work on our side in that if Dwight made the decision that he didn’t want to stay, we would have more time to talk to other teams about what trade possibilities exist.”

During the Magic’s home loss to the Thunder on Thursday, GM Otis Smith was interviewed by Craig Sager, whose flat line of questioning produced several “Nothing has changed” responses. Game analyst Steve Kerr likened Smith’s answers to a former teammate’s meeting with the media.

So today, the Fight for Dwight probably looks like this: 1. New Jersey; 2. Orlando; 3. Dallas; 4. LA Lakers; 5. Golden State.

But consider this, also from Bianchi: “My take (and this is just a theory on my part): The reason the Magic are still trying to convince Dwight to stay is because that is their only option at this point. I believe Dwight wants to become a free agent at the end of the season and therefore will veto any potential trade.”

Aside from Howard, the most prominent name being thrown around in rumors is Celtics All-Star point guard Rajon Rondo.

There was a report light on details that Boston was considering moving Rondo to Golden State for Stephen Curry, which GM Danny Ainge shot down.

From the Boston Herald’s Celtics blog: “You never say never where Ainge’s willingness to make the right trade is concerned – especially in the case of a valuable asset like Rondo – but he is downplaying that possibility now. “I anticipate him being here for a long time,” the Celtics president said when asked about Rondo’s immediate future. Though the ever-stubborn Rondo has had his moments of petulance this season, most recently with a two-game suspension for throwing the ball at referee Sean Wright, Ainge insisted that the guard’s relationship with coach Doc Rivers has actually improved. As documented in a Herald story last December, Rondo threw a bottle into a video screen during a team meeting during the playoffs last season in response to a critique by the Celtics coach.”

Later, however, the newspaper refuted Ainge’s statement with a full story that said the GM has been trying to trade Rondo for over a year but is finding few takers for the moody point guard.

From Mark Murphy of the Herald: “Indeed, Rondo’s trade value has taken a hit. The Celtics can’t hope to get back equal value for him, according to the other source. “There are irreconcilable differences between him and the team, and it’s been that way for a couple of years,” the source said, citing Rondo’s well-documented stubborn streak. “His value around the league has taken a hit. He’s not exactly the Chamber of Commerce’s man of the year. They’ve been kidding themselves for years. Doc can put an arm around him and give him a kiss and try to make it all better, but that just ain’t happening. He was cut from the national team (prior to the 2010 FIBA World Championship),” the source said. “I know the reason they gave was that he had to leave for personal reasons, but that’s baloney. He was cut. He’s a moody guy who has trouble fitting in.” According to the source, there is a dearth of interest in Rondo around the league.”

And Rondo apparently isn’t the only member of the Celtics that Ainge is trying to move. The expiring contracts of Kevin Garnett and Ray Allen are supposedly on the block, as is Paul Pierce, who has two years and $32 million left on his deal.

From Mitch Lawrence of the New York Daily News: “Team president Danny Ainge realizes that the Celtics won’t win the title and can only make the playoffs. That’s not good enough for a franchise that proudly flies 17 championship banners. With the Big Three’s window now shut, Ainge is trying to land Atlanta’s Josh Smith and other young studs, while offering up Kevin Garnett. Paul Pierce and Ray Allen can also be had, for young players and draft picks. Rajon Rondo might be leaving, too, with the Lakers and Utah seen as possible destinations.”

Finally, Mavs owner Mark Cuban met with the agent for AWOL forward Lamar Odom, whose name was linked to Nash in a report Thursday. Odom is going to play one tuneup game with the Texas Legends of the D-League before returning to the Mavs.

From Dwain Price of the Fort Worth Star-Telegram: “Odom left the Mavs on Feb. 22, the morning they played Odom’s former team, the Los Angeles Lakers. Odom went to be with his father, Joe Odom, who was ill. But late last week, Joe Odom told TMZ that he only had an upset stomach, and that his son did spend the night with him on Feb. 22. So, where is the missing Maverick? “He’s just dealing with issues and like we do with anybody else that’s had personal issues, our job is to try and help them out and not to comment beyond that,” owner Mark Cuban said. “He’s got to figure these out and that’s what we’re trying to help him do.” Cuban met with Odom and Odom’s agent, Jeff Schwartz, on Wednesday in Dallas at the W Hotel, where Odom lives. A source said Odom has backed off his desire of wanting the Mavs to buy him out of his contract so he can return to Los Angeles and play for the Clippers, and that he wants to finish the season with the Mavs.”

A buyout of Odom – now or this summer – is a more likely choice than a trade for the Mavs, who have a master plan to acquire Howard and Deron Williams but must clear their salary cap to do so.

 

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