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• Brooklyn Nets: Makar Gevorkian, VP of Basketball Operations Alignment and Strategic Planning • Charlotte Hornets: Rick Schnall, Co-Chairman and Governor • Chicago Bulls: Faizan Hasnany, Manager, Basketball Strategy and Analytics • Dallas Mavericks: Matt Riccardi, Assistant General Manager • Houston Rockets: Sam Strantz, Senior Team Counsel • New Orleans Pelicans: Joe Dumars, Executive Vice President • Oklahoma City Thunder: Sam Presti, Executive Vice President and General Manager • Philadelphia 76ers: Ned Cohen, Assistant General Manager • Portland Trail Blazers: Andrae Patterson, Assistant General Manager • Sacramento Kings: Alvin Gentry, Vice President of Basketball Engagement • San Antonio Spurs: Brian Wright, General Manager • Toronto Raptors: Bobby Webster, General Manager • Utah Jazz: Justin Zanik, General Manager • Washington Wizards: Will Dawkins, General Manager
There was a report Tuesday suggesting Philadelphia 76ers assistant coach Bobby Jackson will return to Sacramento to join Christie’s staff. That is a strong possibility, but a source with knowledge of the situation told The Bee the Kings have yet to ask the 76ers for permission to speak to Jackson and there have been no formal discussions at this point. In addition, vice president of player personnel Phil Jabour, vice president of player development Paul Johnson and vice president of basketball engagement Alvin Gentry will remain with the organization, a source told The Bee.
The move, obviously, paid off. Popovich has more wins than anyone in NBA history. And, when counting moves involving interim coaches, the next coaching change in the league will be the 300th since Popovich began coaching the Spurs. There have been 183 different coaches in the league since Popovich started, not including himself. Of those, 78 have coached multiple franchises in that span — Alvin Gentry, Larry Brown, Mike D’Antoni and Doc Rivers have coached in five different places over those years, and another nine coaches having worked for four different franchises in that time. “You’re always striving to be the best that you can be,” said New Orleans coach Willie Green, who is entering Year 4 with the Pelicans and has been in his job longer than half the other coaches in the league have had their current gigs. “But you take these jobs, understanding that they don’t have a long shelf life.”
Allen was a guest on Grind City Media in Memphis this week. The conversation touched on his final year in the NBA with the New Orleans Pelicans. Allen only played 22 games with the franchise, but he got to know everything good and bad about the organization. He spilled it all in a hilarious segment that had the rest of the crew unable to control their laughter. The segment starts with Allen calling former Pelicans coach Alvin Gentry “one of the worst coaches in the world,” and completely goes off the rails from there. Allen roasted ownership after he finished making fun of the coaching staff. He said “Whatever the Saints didn’t eat we got the leftovers.”
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Allen is a national treasure. His bit about Gentry — “He wasn’t drawing up no plays!” — is had everyone on the set in stitches. Gentry was “just old” according to Allen, to the point where he would forget what he wanted to tell the players in the huddle. “Alright team on 3, what’s the name of the team?”
The most damning stuff here is about ownership. Gayle Benson owns the Pelicans and the NFL’s Saints, but everyone knows the football team is the real jewel. Allen said the Pelicans would “practice on the football field” and would be “shooting baskets in the goal posts.” He also said the organization would make the players take Uber pools to games. I can’t tell if that was a joke.
The experienced NBA coach has a special relationship with Goran. “He’s like part of our family; my daughter will tell you that. We had him when he was very young, just learning that he belonged in the NBA. To see this as the end of his career and everything that he’s accomplished, I’m really, really proud of him. But more so than anything, I think you can see with the turnout and how everybody came out and the players that came back that he’s just such a well-respected guy. He’s such a humble human being that it’s just great to know him.”
Gentry tried to explain what Dragić meant to him. “We’ve kept in contact since he played for me in Phoenix, so he’s just a really good person. I don’t know how else you can say it other than that he’s unselfish in everything he does. He’s a great, great guy, and he’s so humble. If you see how many guys came back to participate in this, it speaks volumes about who he is, how everybody looks at him, and how they respect him.”
Brad Turner: Sources: Lakers have interest in talking to former NBA coach Alvin Gentry about being an assistant on JJ Redick’s staff. Gentry coached Anthony Davis in New Orleans and his teams were very efficient offensively.
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Kings pursuing trade for Brandon Ingram
Sean Cunningham: Sources confirm Sacramento Kings are pursuing a trade for Brandon Ingram. I’m told Kings have had discussions with the Pelicans and it’s worth noting, Ingram was an emerging star under coach Alvin Gentry, who works in Kings front office.
Tom Orsborn: Alvin Gentry on Spurs poised to select Victor Wembanyama: "A generational player, really a player nobody has seen before. Obviously, I got a ton of respect for Pop, and I don’t think (Wemby) could be in a better situation, with Pop having David Robinson and Tim Duncan all of those years."
Casey and Gores are known to have a strong relationship, and the veteran coach has received great support despite four straight losing seasons in Detroit. Various Pistons staffers are preparing for Casey to no longer hold his head coaching post next season, league sources told Yahoo Sports, with the potential for Casey to step into a front office advisory role similar to Alvin Gentry’s path in Sacramento. One source with knowledge of the situation insisted Casey will have the choice of remaining on the bench or stepping into a different role within the team’s basketball operations. The Pistons, too, have clear designs on competing for a postseason position next year.
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