NBA Capsules: Sampson, Bickerstaff join Rockets staff

HOUSTON (AP) — Kevin McHale has added a couple of familiar names to the Houston Rockets coaching staff.

Kelvin Sampson and J.B. Bickerstaff will join McHale once teams get back to work, a person with knowledge of the decisions said Tuesday. The person spoke on condition of anonymity because no official announcement has been made by the team in the midst of the NBA lockout.

McHale was hired June 1 to replace Rick Adelman, who parted ways with the team after four seasons.

Sampson was also interviewed for the head coaching vacancy. He has been an assistant coach in Milwaukee since 2008, and previously left college coaching jobs at Oklahoma and Indiana under NCAA scrutiny.

Bickerstaff, the son of former NBA head coach Bernie Bickerstaff, has been an assistant in Minnesota the past four seasons. McHale coached the Timberwolves at the end of the 2008-09 and also worked in the team’s front office.

The Timberwolves fired Kurt Rambis on Tuesday, and Sampson and Bickerstaff were believed to be potential candidates to become Minnesota’s next coach. Sampson was also a candidate to replace the fired John Kuester in Detroit.

The Rockets are moving on after All-Star center Yao Ming decided to retire. Houston has missed the playoffs the past two seasons, with Yao crippled by injuries and playing in only five games.

Sampson worked as a college coach from 1979-2008, but his problems with the NCAA will likely prevent him from landing another college job.

Oklahoma had eight consecutive 20-win seasons under Sampson, and he was named the NABC national coach of the year after leading the Sooners to the 2002 Final Four. But the program was later placed on probation for major rules violations involving more than 500 impermissible recruiting phone calls Sampson made between 2000-04.

Indiana hired Sampson in March 2006, despite the ongoing NCAA investigation at Oklahoma. In October 2007, Indiana self-reported that Sampson had made more impermissible phone calls to recruits, and in February 2008, the NCAA informed Indiana that Sampson had committed five major rules violations. Sampson agreed to a contract buyout, and briefly worked as a special assistant to the San Antonio Spurs later that spring.

The Bucks hired Sampson in May 2008, and Sampson said he was focused on restoring his reputation. Sampson unsuccessfully appealed NCAA penalties in 2009 that essentially bar him from coaching in college until 2013. He said in 2009 that he was setting his sights on becoming a head coach in the NBA .

Bickerstaff not only worked under McHale, he also played at McHale’s alma mater, Minnesota. He briefly worked as the Gophers’ director of basketball operations before becoming a radio analyst for the Timberwolves for the 2003-04 season. He worked three seasons under his father with the Charlotte Bobcats before the Timberwolves hired him as an assistant in 2007.

Timberwolves fire Kurt Rambis after 2 years

MINNEAPOLIS (AP) — The longer the Kurt Rambis saga dragged on, the bigger the mess got for president of basketball operations David Kahn and the Minnesota Timberwolves.

The organization endured a torrent of criticism nationally for allowing Rambis to twist in the wind, tarnishing the team’s image across the league while many accomplished candidates took other jobs as Kahn mulled the decision.

The long expected firing finally was officially announced Tuesday, ending more than three months of uncertainty and awkwardness surrounding the head coach of the worst team in the NBA last season.

"People can argue about this should have happened and that should’ve happened, but I think collectively we felt that we were doing the right thing in terms of the way we approached it," Kahn said. "But I also recognize it took a long time. That’s on me. And I realize that it can look more convoluted and complicated than maybe it really is, and that’s on me. And to that extent I feel badly about that, too, and I apologize for that."

Kahn hired Rambis in 2009 to turn around one of the league’s struggling franchises. But Rambis went 32-132 in his two seasons, including a league-worst 17-65 in his second year on the job.

The unusual sequence of events began at season’s end, with Kahn holding his own press conference hours before the season finale on April 13 to say that he would take his time to make a decision on Rambis’ future. The eventful summer also included Kahn asking Rambis to write a report on what he would change if he returned for a third season and offering a position in the front office if Rambis would step down as coach.

Through it all, eyebrows were raised across the league, never more than in May when dozens of league executives came to Target Center to watch a group of draft prospects workout. Rambis was there as well, even though he did not know if he would be back in 2011-12.

Rambis wasn’t fired until seven weeks later, long after being told he was not welcome at an introductory news conference for point guard Ricky Rubio or the draft on June 23.

It was somewhat similar to when Kahn was first hired in 2009 and let then-coach Kevin McHale dangle for weeks before ultimately deciding not to retain him.

"I wish it was easier to do," Kahn said of finding the right coach, mentioning that 19 have been fired since Rambis took the job in 2009. "I feel certainly the weight of having to do this. I don’t want to say this at Kurt’s expense, but obviously we need to do it better than the last one."

While people searched for answers on the process, Kahn said the delay in firing Rambis had nothing to do with money.

Rambis has two years left on the four-year contract he got to leave his job as Phil Jackson’s top assistant with the Lakers. That means owner Glen Taylor will be on the hook for about $4 million while he and Kahn look for a new coach to work with the youngest team in the NBA. The move could prove even more costly if the lockout wipes games off the schedule next season.

"I’m grateful for the opportunity that Timberwolves owner Glen Taylor has given me," Rambis said in a statement given to The Associated Press. "During my years working with coaches Jackson, (Pat) Riley and (Cotton) Fitzsimmons, I learned all about the ups and downs of this sport. And today is one of the down days.

"But I’m confident that my work — and the work of my staff — with our many young players over the last two years will begin to pay off for Mr. Taylor and Timberwolves fans. Now, as important new players are added to the mix, the future of this franchise should be a bright one, and I am thankful for the chance I had, to play a part in shaping that future."

No mention of Kahn there. As their second season together in Minnesota wore on, the relationship between Rambis and Kahn appeared to deteriorate as well. The two rarely spoke as their philosophies on what would work best on the court diverged.

Kahn wanted Rambis to retool the offense, which had elements of the triangle system used by Jackson, to a more up-tempo, fast-break-or-bust mentality. The triangle offense limits the point guard’s ability to freelance and create, something Kahn wanted to change with Rubio’s arrival for next season.

Rambis didn’t feel that run-and-gun approach would be conducive to winning in the NBA, so the two drifted off the same page.

"I didn’t feel comfortable dictating how the team should be coached," Kahn said when asked what led to the final decision. "I think it needed to flow from out of him."

Under Rambis, Kevin Love blossomed into an All-Star and Michael Beasley and Darko Milicic also showed flashes of the potential that made them top draft picks. But the Wolves were making the same mistakes — too many turnovers, poor perimeter defense, inconsistent ball movement — at the end of the season that they were at the beginning. They lost their last 15 games.

"He tried hard," Timberwolves forward Anthony Tolliver said. "At the end of the day, he didn’t have the success that we wanted to. It wasn’t because of a lack of effort. But I respect David Kahn’s decision to hire a new coach. It’s a business."

Now, in some ways, the Timberwolves are back to square one — looking for the kind of leader who can mold this young team into a playoff contender in the powerful Western Conference.

Former Timberwolves coach and executive Kevin McHale may have thrown a wrench in Kahn’s plans for a successor. McHale, who was hired by the Houston Rockets as coach this summer, has added Kelvin Sampson and J.B. Bickerstaff to his bench, two people with knowledge of the decision said on condition of anonymity because the Rockets have not announced the hires.

Kahn said he has received permission to speak with Portland assistant Bernie Bickerstaff. One of the plans being considered was hiring Bernie Bickerstaff while having his son J.B. tutor under him for a year or two before taking over.

And despite all the criticism of the process, Kahn said he didn’t expect it to affect the team’s ability to find a suitable replacement. He said Tuesday that he has already received "seven or eight" calls from coaches interested in getting consideration.

"I think at the end of the day people look at the roster and I think that our roster gives people a lot of optimism and enthusiasm for where this position could go in the next several years," Kahn said.

-- Jon Krawczynski

Bobcats begin laying off workers amid NBA lockout

CHARLOTTE, N.C. (AP) — With the NBA lockout less than two weeks old, at least two NBA teams have begun cutting staff. One of the first to resort to layoffs: Michael Jordan’s Charlotte Bobcats.

Radio play-by-play announcer Scott Lauer was one of at least seven employees let go by the Bobcats in the past week.

A person familiar with the situation says the Detroit Pistons fired 15 people two weeks ago. The person, who wasn’t authorized to speak about the team’s moves, spoke to The Associated Press on the condition of anonymity.

The job losses come as NBA owners have locked out the players after failing to reach a new collective bargaining agreement, shutting down the league for what could be a protracted work stoppage that threatens the start of the 2011-12 season.

Jordan, the Hall of Famer and six-time NBA champion who became the first ex-player to own a team, axed Lauer, director of corporate communications Michael Thompson, manager of community relations Kim Beal and others in sales and business operations.

"They just told me it was an organizational restructuring and my position has been eliminated," Lauer said Tuesday. "I still feel that once games begin that I’ll be broadcasting games again for them. I’m under that impression, but there is certainly no guarantee in that one way or the other."

Jordan, scheduled to participate in a celebrity golf tournament this week in Nevada, wasn’t available for comment. A team spokesman confirmed fewer than 10 people were let go, but declined further comment.

"We don’t discuss personnel matters," B.J. Evans said.

The Pistons, who were sold last month to investor Tom Gores, also declined comment.

It’s not the first time the financially-strapped Bobcats, who employed about 130 people before the cuts, have reduced staff. But it comes after Jordan initially boosted the number of employees after he bought the team outright from Bob Johnson a year ago.

"This is the nature of working in sports," said Thompson, who also worked for the Charlotte Hornets before they left for New Orleans in 2002. "I’m grateful to the franchises that have given me opportunities over the past 13 years, and I’m looking forward to finding a new organization to serve."

The Bobcats are one of what the NBA says is 22 teams that are losing money. The NBA announced Jordan paid $275 million for the team Johnson paid a $300 million expansion fee to obtain in 2004. But much of Jordan’s price included the assumption of debt.

Now with both the players and owners not close to an agreement, lower-paid employees in business operations are starting to feel the pinch of the league’s first work stoppage since 1998-99.

"I think that’s where it’s a shame, where the everyday employees of these teams are caught in the middle of it," said Lauer, who was in his seventh season with the franchise. "Ultimately, I’m just concerned with the well-being of my family and how they’re going to handle this. I don’t want them to suffer in any way."

The Bobcats basketball operations department, which recently added general manager Rich Cho, wasn’t affected by the cuts. The team’s television announcers are employed by Fox.

-- Mike Cranston

Durant not ruling out going abroad during lockout

TIANJIN, China (AP) — Kevin Durant isn’t ruling out playing basketball abroad next season if the NBA lockout isn’t resolved.

The Oklahoma City Thunder forward said Tuesday during a promotional tour in China that he thinks more players will follow Deron Williams’ example and play overseas if the NBA season is disrupted. Williams has said he will play for Besiktas in Turkey if the lockout remains.

"We’ll see, I would like to try something new," Durant said. "But of course, my first option is playing in the NBA. So now I want to see how this lockout goes."

He said he’s still hopeful that a new collective bargaining agreement will be reached.

"If not, I will make a decision on where I am going to play basketball," said Durant, who added he’s in no hurry to make a decision. "I am going to take it slow, everybody’s going to wait to see how this plays out. D-Will, you know, he made his decision quick and I am sure you are going to see a lot of guys kind of follow his footsteps. So, he’s very brave to be the first guy to do it."

He added it is "tough" to see Yao Ming retire, and the 7-foot-6 Houston Rockets center deserves to be in the basketball Hall of Fame.

Durant said it has been an honor to play Yao, who is expected to announce July 20 that he’s retiring from the NBA after nine seasons because of leg and foot injuries. The 30-year-old Yao has missed 250 regular-season games over the past six seasons.

"Tough, man, tough to see a great player and a great competitor like Yao Ming leave the game after being injured a few years," Durant said. "As a player, you come into the league, the first thing somebody asks you is what you want to do when you get here, and a lot of players say, ‘I want to dunk over Yao Ming.’ So you can tell how much impact he has in the game.

"He comes in, he works every day and you can tell that he’s never in trouble and he sets such a good example for the players coming into the league."

Asked if he thought Yao should have a place in the basketball Hall of Fame, Durant said the Chinese player deserves the honor.

"It was exciting to watch such a tall guy but that can shoot the basketball and put so much pressure on your defense by playing down low, and also his defense, too," Durant said. "He does so much for the game, and he does deserve to be in the Hall of Fame. He’s so dominant in the game, and he changed the game by him just running up and down the floor."

Yao boosted the popularity of the basketball league in China and throughout Asia, spiking merchandise sales and TV ratings for games after the Rockets made him the top overall pick in the 2002 draft.

NBA to host 11th BWB camps, minus active players

NEW YORK (AP) — The NBA is celebrating the 10th anniversary of its Basketball without Borders program, the first that won’t involve active players because of the lockout.

Camps will be held in Slovenia, Johannesburg, South Africa, and Rio de Janeiro. The Slovenian camp will be the first held in one of the former Yugoslav republics, where the 50 campers who attended the inaugural camp in 2001 came from.

The camps, organized by the NBA and FIBA, bring young players together for on-court instruction and life-skills seminars. The campers won’t get any coaching from active players, who are prevented from taking part in league activities during the lockout.

Commissioner David Stern said during the finals the league’s community outreach initiatives would continue without them, relying on retired players.

Former Kings center Vlade Divac from Serbia, who was instrumental in the creation of the Basketball without Borders program, will return for the camp in Slovenia.

"Basketball was always a source of pride in the former Yugoslavia, and I thought it would be a great vehicle through which to teach tolerance and mutual respect after a period of such division and conflict," Divac said Tuesday in a statement. "I am amazed at how the program has grown over the last decade and couldn’t be prouder to participate in this special anniversary celebration."

Dominique Wilkins and Allan Houston will help run the camp in Brazil, site of the first Americas camp in 2004. NBA Global Ambassador Dikembe Mutombo will lead the camp as it returns to Johannesburg for the eighth time.

There have been 27 Basketball without Borders camps in 14 countries since its inception. Seventeen campers have gone on to be drafted into the NBA.

Durant: Yao deserves to be in Hall of Fame

TIANJIN, China (AP) — Oklahoma City Thunder’s Kevin Durant says it is "tough" to see Yao Ming retire and that the player deserves to be in the basketball Hall of Fame.

Durant said during a promotional tour in China on Tuesday that it has been an honor to play against the 7-foot-6 Houston Rockets center. Yao is expected to announce at a news conference on July 20 that he’s retiring from the NBA after nine seasons because of leg and foot injuries.

"Tough, man, tough to see a great player and a great competitor like Yao Ming leave the game after being injured a few years," Durant said during a stop in the city of Tianjin, east of Beijing. "As a player, you come into the league, the first thing somebody asks you is what you want to do when you get here, and a lot of players say, ‘I want to dunk over Yao Ming.’ So you can tell how much impact he has in the game.

"He comes in, he works every day and you can tell that he’s never in trouble and he sets such a good example for the players coming into the league."

Asked if he thought Yao should have a place in the basketball Hall of Fame, Durant said the Chinese player deserves the honor because he has done a lot for the game.

"It was exciting to watch such a tall guy but that can shoot the basketball and put so much pressure on your defense by playing down low, and also his defense, too," Durant said. "He does so much for the game, and he does deserve to be in the Hall of Fame.

"He’s so dominant in the game, and he changed the game by him just running up and down the floor."

Yao boosted the popularity of the basketball league in China and throughout Asia, spiking merchandise sales and TV ratings for games after the Rockets made him the top overall pick in the 2002 draft.

The 30-year-old Yao has missed 250 regular-season games over the past six seasons because of injuries.

AP source: Noah to play for Team France

CHICAGO (AP) — A person familiar with Joakim Noah’s decision says the Chicago Bulls center plans to play for the French national team in the European Championships in Lithuania.

The person spoke Tuesday on condition of anonymity because they were not authorized to discuss Noah’s plans.

Noah was limited by a thumb injury last season, averaging 11.7 points and 10.4 rebounds in 48 games while helping the Bulls to a league-best 62 wins. They came up short in the Eastern Conference finals, losing to the Miami Heat.

France begins play in the European Championships against Latvia on Aug. 31.

-- Andrew Seligman