Category: NBA Teams

NBA teams blog

Sacramento Kings hire Mike Brown as new head coach

The Sacramento Kings today named Mike Brown as the team’s new head coach.

“Mike has consistently demonstrated his ability to lead winning teams throughout his long and successful coaching career,” said Sacramento Kings General Manager Monte McNair. “He has worked with some of the best players in the NBA and is one of the league’s premier defensive minds. I am excited to bring his extensive experience to Sacramento.”

Per the Sacramento Bee, the “Kings made the formal announcement after reaching an agreement on a four-year deal with Brown on Sunday. Brown is in his sixth season as associate head coach of the Warriors, where he serves as Steve Kerr’s top assistant. Brown will remain with the Warriors through the end of their playoff run, sources told The Sacramento Bee. The Kings will schedule an introductory news conference for Brown after the Warriors conclude their season.”

Brown joins the Kings from the Golden State Warriors, where he is currently in his sixth season as an assistant coach. He helped guide the team to back-to-back titles in 2016-17 and 2017-18. Prior to the Warriors, Brown held head coaching duties with the Cleveland Cavaliers (2005-10, 2013-14) and Los Angeles Lakers (2011-12). Brown’s teams qualified for the playoffs in six of his seven full seasons as a head coach, advancing past the first round in each appearance.

More from The Bee: “The Kings hired Brown from a candidate pool that included Brooklyn Nets coaching consultant Steve Clifford; New Orleans Pelicans coaching advisor Mike D’Antoni; Milwaukee Bucks assistants Darvin Ham and Charles Lee; ESPN analyst Mark Jackson; and Boston Celtics assistant Will Hardy. Brown, Jackson and Clifford came to Sacrament to interview for the job last week after being selected as finalists.”

In 2007, Brown led the Cavaliers to their first-ever NBA Finals appearance and was named the NBA Coach of the Year in 2008-09 after guiding the Cavaliers to a franchise-record 66 wins. Cleveland won at least 50 games in four of Brown’s first five seasons with the club, including back-to-back 60-win campaigns in 2008-09 (66) and 2009-10 (61). During the 2011-2012 lockout-shortened season, Brown led the Lakers to a Pacific Division title and a 41-25 (.621) record. He owns a career head coaching record of 347-216 (.616) over eight seasons, which ranks as the ninth-best winning percentage in NBA history among coaches who have registered at least 500 games at the helm.

Prior to joining the Cavaliers in 2005, Brown was associate head coach of the Indiana Pacers for two seasons (2003-05) after spending three years as an assistant with the San Antonio Spurs (2001-03), where he also captured an NBA title. Brown began his career with the Denver Nuggets in 1992, spending five seasons as a video coordinator and scout before serving as an assistant under Bernie Bickerstaff in Washington beginning in 1997.

A native of Columbus, Ohio, Brown is a graduate of the University of San Diego, where he played collegiately for two seasons after spending two years at Mesa Community College.

Brown was the head coach of the Nigeria men’s national basketball team during the 2020 Olympic Games in Tokyo, held in August 2021.

Nets guard Seth Curry undergoes ankle surgery

Brooklyn Nets guard Seth Curry underwent arthroscopic surgery on his left ankle earlier today. The procedure was performed by Dr. Martin O’Malley at the Hospital for Special Surgery.

The Nets expect Curry to be fully recovered prior to the start of next season’s training camp.

Curry appeared in 19 games (all starts) for Brooklyn this season after being acquired via trade in February, averaging 14.9 points, 2.6 rebounds and 2.6 assists in 29.9 minutes per contest while shooting 49.3 percent from the field, 46.8 percent from 3-point range and 85.7 percent from the free-throw line.

Kyle Lowry limited in Game 3 return for Heat against Sixers

Kyle Lowry had returned, and he had returned home.

The Miami Heat point guard and Philadelphia native’s next step is to reclaim his identity.

Lowry was plainly out of sorts in the Heat’s 99-79 road loss to the Philadelphia 76ers on Friday night, cutting the Heat’s lead to 2-1 in the best-of-seven Eastern Conference semifinal.

“I had one good day of working out, kind of a half day, and I’ve just got to find a rhythm,” Lowry said, with the Heat turning their attention to Sunday’s 8 p.m. Game 4 at Wells Fargo Center. “I didn’t expect it to be amazing [Friday]. I didn’t expect to have zero points, but just trying to get a feel for the game, just be out there, especially in this hostile situation.”

Lowry was injured during the second half of the Heat’s first-round road loss to the Atlanta Hawks on April 22. He missed four games before returning. He played 25:21 on Friday night, finishing 0 for 4 from the field, including 0 for 2 on 3-pointers, without a free-throw attempt, while also grabbing four rebounds and dishing out three assists.

Source: Sun Sentinel

The latest on the Lakers’ coaching search

The latest on the Los Angeles Lakers’ coaching search, via the L.A. Times:

After interviewing two assistant coaches for their head coaching position, the Lakers have spoken to a pair of former NBA head coaches, according to people with knowledge of the situation who were not authorized to speak publicly about the matter.

The Lakers interviewed former Portland Trail Blazers coach Terry Stotts and former Golden State Warriors coach Mark Jackson in their search to replace Frank Vogel as head coach.

Assistants Darvin Ham (Milwaukee) and Adrian Griffin (Toronto) have also spoken with the Lakers about the job.

And from ESPN.com:

Lakers general manager Rob Pelinka is the point man on the organization’s search, but there’s a committee in place to vet the candidates. Besides Pelinka and owner Jeanie Buss, advisor Kurt Rambis and former Lakers coach Phil Jackson are also a significant part of the conversations, sources said.

The Lakers have also reached out to Milwaukee Bucks assistant Darvin Ham and Toronto Raptors assistant Adrian Griffin to discuss the opening, sources said.

After missing the playoffs with a 33-49 record, the Lakers fired Frank Vogel in April.

NBA fines Dallas Mavericks $25,000 for bench decorum reasons

The Dallas Mavericks organization has been fined $25,000 for violating league rules regarding team bench decorum, it was announced today by Byron Spruell, President, League Operations.

Per the league, “on multiple occasions, several players and a member of the coaching staff stood away from Dallas’ team bench and were on or encroaching upon the playing court during game action in the Mavericks’ 129-109 loss to the Phoenix Suns in Game 2 of their conference semifinals playoff series May 4 at Footprint Center.”

Clippers will reportedly sign forward Robert Covington to contract extension

Some 2022 NBA offseason news has come a bit early. Via ESPN.com:

LA Clippers forward Robert Covington has agreed to a two-year, $24 million contract extension, his agent, Andrew Morrison of CAA Sports, told ESPN on Thursday.

Covington, who will avoid a summer free-agency marketplace that is limited in salary-cap space, returns to a loaded Clippers roster that will start the season among the NBA’s significant championship contenders.

Under collective bargaining rules, Covington was eligible to re-sign with the Clippers for a maximum of two years before the start of free agency in July.

The Clippers finished 42-40 this season, qualified for the play-in tournament, but failed to clinch a playoff spot.

Grizzlies’ Dillon Brooks suspended one game for foul on Gary Payton II

Memphis Grizzlies guard-forward Dillon Brooks has been suspended one game without pay for having made unnecessary and excessive contact against Golden State Warriors guard Gary Payton II, resulting in substantial injury to Payton, it was announced today by Byron Spruell, President, League Operations.

The incident, for which Brooks was assessed a Flagrant Foul 2 and ejected, occurred with 9:08 remaining in the first quarter of the Grizzlies’ 106-101 win over the Warriors in Game 2 of their conference semifinals playoff series May 3 at FedEx Forum.

Brooks will serve his suspension Saturday, May 7 when the Grizzlies visit the Warriors for Game 3 at Chase Center.

Tyler Herro wins 2021-22 NBA Sixth Man of the Year award

Miami Heat guard Tyler Herro has been named the 2021-22 NBA Sixth Man of the Year for his contributions in a reserve role, the NBA announced today. This is the first Sixth Man honor for Herro, who becomes the first player to win the annual award with the Heat.

Herro received 488 total points (96 first-place votes) from a global panel of 100 sportswriters and broadcasters. Cleveland Cavaliers forward Kevin Love finished in second place with 214 points (three first-place votes). Phoenix Suns forward Cam Johnson finished in third place with 128 points (one first-place vote).

Players were awarded five points for each first-place vote, three points for each second-place vote and one point for each third-place vote. To be eligible for the Kia NBA Sixth Man of the Year Award, a player had to have come off the bench in more games than he started.

In his third NBA season, Herro averaged 20.7 points, 5.0 rebounds and 4.0 assists in 32.6 minutes in 66 games (10 starts). His scoring average of 20.8 points as a reserve was the highest in the NBA. He became the fifth player to average at least 20.0 points off the bench (minimum 50 games as a reserve) since starts began being tracked in the 1970-71 season, joining Thurl Bailey (1987-88), Eddie Johnson (1988-89), Ricky Pierce (1989-90, 1990-91) and Lou Williams (2017-18, 2018-19).

Herro’s eight 30-point games off the bench were tied for the third most since the 1970-71 season and his 20 25-point games were tied for the fourth most. He ranked 20th in the NBA in free throw percentage (86.8), 21st in points per game, 26th in three-point field goal percentage (39.9) and 32nd in three-pointers made (175).

Setting a single-season franchise record with 1,162 points off the bench, Herro helped the Heat finish with a 53-29 record and earn the top seed in the Eastern Conference for the 2022 NBA Playoffs presented by Google Pixel. Miami is currently facing the Philadelphia 76ers in the Eastern Conference Semifinals, with Game 2 to be played on Wednesday, May 4 at 7:30 p.m. ET on TNT.

Herro, 22, the 13th overall pick in the 2019 NBA Draft, has averaged 16.7 points, 4.7 rebounds and 3.2 assists in 175 games over three seasons with the Heat. In the 2019-20 season, he was named to the NBA All-Rookie Second Team and set a Miami single-game playoff rookie scoring record with 37 points against the Boston Celtics in Game 4 of the Eastern Conference Finals.

On D’Angelo Russell and the Timberwolves

Here’s the St. Paul Pioneer Press on Minnesota Timberwolves guard D’Angelo Russell:

D’Angelo Russell, the man known for having “ice in his veins” — an ode to his clutch shot making — spent the most important minutes of the Timberwolves’ season on the bench.

Russell sat in favor of Jordan McLaughlin for the final five minutes of Minnesota’s Game 6 loss on Saturday at Target Center. That certainly wasn’t Russell’s preference. He noted Saturday that everyone wants to be in a position to do their job.

“Of course I want to be out there,” he said.

But he didn’t earn that opportunity. Not with his play Saturday, not with his play throughout the first-round series, and frankly not with his play over the past couple of months. Over his final 14 appearances of the regular season, Russell averaged just 13.4 points a game, shooting 37 percent from the floor and 29 percent from deep. Over the back portion of the season, Russell had the Timberwolves’ worst defensive rating and net rating.

Then came a dynamic play-in performance against the Los Angeles Clippers that helped Minnesota punch its playoff ticket. But that turned out to be a blip on the radar and not a precursor to playoff success. Russell averaged 12 points and nearly three turnovers per game in the first-round loss, shooting 33 percent from the field.

Full Article

Heat swingman Jimmy Butler says knee should be okay for second round Game 1

Here’s ESPN.com with some good news on the Miami Heat:

Heat swingman Jimmy Butler is confident he’ll be ready for Game 1 of the Eastern Conference semifinals against the Philadelphia 76ers on Monday night as he continues to deal with right knee soreness.

“It’s all right,” Butler said after Saturday’s practice. “We got another day in between. Get out there, rip and ride. And I know it will be ready to hold up come Monday, but the time off has been great for myself and so many other guys that are nicked up. Everybody’s ready to compete.”

Butler sat out Game 5 of the Heat’s series-clinching win over the Atlanta Hawks on Tuesday night, but he looked solid taking jumpers and moving around the floor a little bit after Saturday’s practice. Heat coach Erik Spoelstra said all the players, a group that included Butler and veteran guard Kyle Lowry, were able to do “a little bit more than [Friday].” Heat guard Tyler Herro said he would be ready for Game 1 after missing Friday’s practice while dealing with a cold.