HoopsHype.com Rumors

Marc Stein: Jeff Hornacek also scheduled to interview for Bobcats' opening by end of coming week. Alvin Gentry and Elston Turner interviewed already Twitter @ESPNSteinLine

Charlotte Bobcats, Coaching, Alvin Gentry, Jeff Hornacek, Elston Turner 

Former Phoenix Suns head coach Alvin Gentry weighed in on who he thinks should lead the organization going forward. Gentry told Arizona Sports 620's Doug & Wolf Tuesday that the Suns have an interesting pool of candidates to choose from in their search for a new head coach. "I think there's a lot of great guys out there," Gentry said. "At the end of this season, Lionel Hollins is going to be a free agent. He's got a lot of Valley ties here, played at Arizona State. Obviously he's shown that he can really coach -- young teams that are developing. "He can also, the defensive thing, which has been kind of an Achilles' heel for the last eight years here. He's done a great job in that area." Arizona's Sports Page

Memphis Grizzlies, Phoenix Suns, Coaching, Lionel Hollins, Alvin Gentry 

With Vinny’s firing, er, fate yet to be announced, the insiders’ frontrunners for the job are, indeed, all people Paul likes: Byron Scott, his coach in New Orleans; Alvin Gentry, the former Sun (and Clipper) coach; and Golden State’s Mike Malone, the hot assistant teams are lining up for. HoopsHype

Los Angeles Clippers, Chris Paul, Byron Scott, Coaching, Alvin Gentry, Mike Malone 

Mike Bresnahan: Dan D'Antoni, Steve Clifford, Darvin Ham and Phil Handy still on Lakers' coaching staff. Alvin Gentry would be logical hire as well. Twitter @Mike_Bresnahan

Los Angeles Lakers, Coaching, Darvin Ham, Alvin Gentry, Dan D'Antoni, Steve Clifford, Phil Handy 

Clifford becomes the sixth known candidate to fill the opening created when the Bobcats fired Mike Dunlap last month. The others: Former Phoenix Suns coach Alvin Gentry and four assistants: Nate Tibbetts (Cleveland), Kelvin Sampson (Houston), Jeff Hornacek (Utah) and Elston Turner (most recently with the Suns). Charlotte Observer

Charlotte Bobcats, Cleveland Cavaliers, Houston Rockets, Utah Jazz, Coaching, Kelvin Sampson, Alvin Gentry, Jeff Hornacek, Elston Turner, Nate Tibbetts 

he list of known candidates for the Charlotte Bobcats head-coaching job is at five and probably growing. Various news sources have identified four current NBA assistants, plus Shelby native Alvin Gentry, who has been a head coach with four NBA teams. The assistants (in alphabetical order): Jeff Hornacek (Utah Jazz), Kelvin Sampson (Houston Rockets), Nate Tibbetts (Cleveland Cavaliers) and Elston Turner (most recently with the Phoenix Suns). Charlotte Observer

Charlotte Bobcats, Cleveland Cavaliers, Houston Rockets, Phoenix Suns, Utah Jazz, Coaching, Kelvin Sampson, Alvin Gentry, Jeff Hornacek, Elston Turner, Nate Tibbetts 

David Aldridge: Former Suns coach Alvin Gentry will interview w/Bobcats next week. Also confirm Yahoo! report that CHA will also talk w/Elston Turner. Twitter @daldridgetnt

Charlotte Bobcats, Coaching, Alvin Gentry, Elston Turner 

Alvin Gentry would love to come home and coach the Charlotte Bobcats. A Shelby native and former Appalachian State player, Gentry has coached four NBA franchises over 12 seasons. He told the Observer Friday that the Bobcats opening is very appealing and he’d like to be in the mix. “It reminds me a little bit of the teams I had in L.A. (with the Clippers): Young players, very energetic guys,’’ Gentry said. “Kemba (Walker) and Michael Kidd-Gilchrist have a lot of potential and (Gerald) Henderson has started to really establish himself as a pro. “I’ve seen a lot of their games. Yes, they’ve struggled at times, but that’s a situation where you could make a big change in a year or so. I know that player development is really important to that job.’’ Charlotte Observer

Charlotte Bobcats, Alvin Gentry 

The Bobcats have gone through four head coaches since 2007. Gentry said that wouldn’t deter him, that the team’s assets – likely four first-round picks over the next two drafts and up to $21 million in cap space – make this an appealing situation. “You know they’re going to get some good young players with those picks and then they have the (cap) flexibility to add a very good veteran player, somebody who can serve as an example to the rest of the locker room,’’ Gentry said. “And you’ve got Michael (Jordan as owner) – the best player to ever put on a uniform. I’d certainly use him as a resource.’’ Charlotte Observer

Charlotte Bobcats, Coaching, Alvin Gentry 

Marc Stein: Bobcats likely to seek proven coach after Dunlap experiment. Alvin Gentry has resume, presence & local ties. Expect him in mix for that job Twitter @ESPNSteinLine

Charlotte Bobcats, Coaching, Alvin Gentry 

I reported a team source saying that if the Suns' players voted, they would've picked Dan Majerle as their choice to succeed Alvin Gentry, not Lindsey Hunter. A second team source doesn't categorically dispute that but said more core players were in favor of Hunter than Majerle. The results since Hunter has taken over supports that. Sulia

Phoenix Suns, Coaching, Alvin Gentry, Dan Majerle, Lindsey Hunter 

New Suns interim coach Lindsey Hunter won his first two games, but it’s highly doubtful that Alvin Gentry sent a congratulatory note to his successor. Suns insiders say that Gentry more than once had Hunter removed from practices when Hunter was serving in his role as a first-year player development coordinator. Hunter was regarded as a spy for the front office, which was all but confirmed after the Suns fired Gentry and tabbed Hunter over Gentry’s longtime assistants, Elston Turner and Dan Majerle, each of whom was more deserving for the interim post New York Daily News

Phoenix Suns, Coaching, Alvin Gentry, Elston Turner, Dan Majerle, Lindsey Hunter 

Suns insiders say that Gentry more than once had Hunter removed from practices when Hunter was serving in his role as a first-year player development coordinator. Hunter was regarded as a spy for the front office, which was all but confirmed after the Suns fired Gentry and tabbed Hunter over Gentry’s longtime assistants, Elston Turner and Dan Majerle, each of whom was more deserving for the interim post. New York Daily News

Phoenix Suns, Coaching, Alvin Gentry, Lindsey Hunter 

When the news broke that Gentry was out in Phoenix, I shared my admiration for Gentry and noted how he seemed to be the fall-guy in what was a complicated and dysfunctional situation. Before long, I was being called "salty" by someone who would turn out to be the father of rookie point guard Kendall Marshall. A back-and-forth ensued, but the eventual revelation was that Kendall Marshall was a big fan of Hunter's and there was some hope that his promotion would improve his situation. Marshall, who was taken 13th overall out of North Carolina, played in just 11 games under Gentry and played more than seven minutes in a game just once. "Lindsey has had confidence in Kendall," Dennis Marshall said via direct message. "He worked him out every day, sometimes twice a day. They seem to get along well." USA Today Sports

Phoenix Suns, Coaching, Lance Blanks, Alvin Gentry, Lindsey Hunter, Kendall Marshall, Dennis Marshall 

When asked how he felt about the coaching change, Gentry gave the impression he wasn't exactly on board with the idea. "Decisions are made that you don't agree with," he said. "They have the right to do that." Gentry said he will use this new-found time off to visit his daughter, visit other teams around the league and visit his friend Larry Brown at Southern Methodist University because, quite simply, he can't stand to just sit around. "I'm going to focus on my next endeavor and the next place that I can possibly be." Arizona's Sports Page

Coaching, Larry Brown, Alvin Gentry, Lindsey Hunter 

But according to Van Gundy, Gentry should not have been forced to shoulder the blame for the team's recent woes. "I thought he did an outstanding job in Phoenix," said Van Gundy. "I think he's a good coach and a great ambassador for any organization. I think he's exactly the type of man you would want your son to play for and to emulate. "I couldn't speak more highly of a person than Alvin Gentry." Arizona's Sports Page

Phoenix Suns, Coaching, Larry Brown, Jeff Van Gundy, Alvin Gentry, Lindsey Hunter 

Among them, sources said, is O'Neal's concern about what his role will be under the new coach. Though O'Neal and Hunter never had any personal issues before, sources said O'Neal's concern may have stemmed from his sense of loyalty to Alvin Gentry, who was removed last week in what the team described as a mutual parting of the ways. Another player said to be upset with Gentry's removal is point guard Goran Dragic, a league source said. CBSSports.com

Phoenix Suns, Jermaine O'Neal, Goran Dragic, Lance Blanks, Alvin Gentry 

After the departure of Alvin Gentry as Suns head coach Friday morning, the Suns front office is using the team’s five-day break to interview internal candidates for the interim coach position. Suns assistant coaches Elston Turner, Igor Kokoskov and Dan Majerle and player development coordinator Lindsey Hunter are believed to be the candidates for the job of running the 13-28 team for the season’s second half. Suns officials have not disclosed information on the process today. Suns players still reported to the arena today to work out with some expressing a desire for Majerle to take the helm. As one of the most popular people in Suns history, Majerle would be a public hit. He has served as an assistant coach since 2008 and was a Philadelphia head coach candidate when Doug Collins was selected. Majerle, a Suns Ring of Honor member, has been the head coach of four NBA Summer League teams for the Suns. Arizona Republic

Phoenix Suns, Coaching, Alvin Gentry, Elston Turner, Dan Majerle, Igor Kokoskov, Lindsey Hunter 

On what Babby wanted to see from Gentry that he did not: “I don’t want to get into the details of evaluating what led to the decision. This is not something we planned for. As short as a month ago, Robert Sarver was direct and blunt in saying Alvin would be here for the rest of the year. That was our intent all along. That was a commitment that we had made. But sometimes in this business you get to a point where it just doesn’t feel right and we just reached that point. We met after the game last night. Robert, Alvin and I met long into the night and met again this morning and just felt like it was the right time for each of us to move on. How you get to that point is something that we look at closely and try to learn from but I don’t think it serves anybody’s purpsoe to share all of the details and all of the reason, either from his side or from our side.” Arizona Republic

Phoenix Suns, Coaching, Lon Babby, Alvin Gentry 

On whether Gentry ever indicated wanting to stay: “Take it for what it is. It was a mutual decision. I’m not going to go through the entire conversation. That is private among me, Robert and Alvin but it was a good cordial, amicable conversation with everyone coming out of it with good faith and trying to do the right thing for the organization.” Arizona Republic

Phoenix Suns, Coaching, Lon Babby, Alvin Gentry