HoopsHype.com Rumors

(Bobby) Jackson, an assistant coach for two seasons, is uncertain if he'll have a role in the attempt to turn the Kings back into contenders. None of the team's assistant coaches has a contract for next season, he said. Head coach Keith Smart has another year on his contract, but his fate likely won't be decided until the change in ownership is official later this month. Sacramento Bee

Sacramento Kings, Coaching, Keith Smart, Bobby Jackson 

Part-time Spurs advance scout Rick Duque has known a different Popovich than the rest of us since their days together as recruit and coach in the mid-1980s at Division III Pomona-Pitzer in Claremont, Calif. There was a bond built that remains to this day, a decade after Popovich's hard-wiring as a disciplinarian learned at the Air Force Academy, back when his foundation that has so much to do with the player-coach relationship was being formed. As is so often the case with Popovich, it all began with a shared love of wine and basketball. Duque's father, Henry, shared a passion for Popovich's favorite pastimes, so he and his wife, Judy, became instant friends with their son's new coach. Some 30 years later, Popovich still checks in with them. "When I graduated and (Popovich) left (for the NBA), he still continued to stay in touch with my mom and dad and with me as well," said Duque, who would only agree to be interviewed after receiving Popovich's permission. "He'll write handwritten notes to check in and see how they're doing and let them know how his life was. He still remembered who they were, even though he'd moved on to something bigger." USA Today Sports

San Antonio Spurs, Coaching, Gregg Popovich 

While Popovich will never sing his own praises, his record does: a .681 regular-season winning percentage, four titles, the NBA's longest tenure. Next longest: the Boston Celtics' Doc Rivers, at nine seasons. Over Popovich's 17 seasons, the other NBA clubs have averaged seven head coaches. "He's actually, I think, a little more fiery now, if you can believe that," Duncan tells USA TODAY Sports. "Obviously he's been doing this for a long time, and I don't think his passion has changed. That's tough for the period of time that he's done it. And as I said, I think he's even more fired up now and wants it even more than he did before." USA Today Sports

San Antonio Spurs, Coaching, Gregg Popovich 

"The opportunity to go to the Finals and to win a championship is very rare," star point guard Tony Parker says. "He realizes that and has got that fire from last year, too." USA Today Sports

San Antonio Spurs, Coaching, Gregg Popovich 

The Phoenix Suns recently asked and received permission from the Lakers to talk with assistant coach Steve Clifford about their vacant head-coaching position, according to Lakers spokesman John Black. Los Angeles Daily News

Los Angeles Lakers, Phoenix Suns, Coaching, Steve Clifford 

Alex Kennedy: Phil Jackson isn't interested in coaching the Clippers. On Sportscenter, he was asked about Clippers' job and said, "Thanks but no thanks." Twitter @AlexKennedyNBA

Los Angeles Clippers, Phil Jackson, Coaching 

Houston Rockets assistant coach J.B. Bickerstaff will meet with Suns officials on Friday in Phoenix, league sources told Yahoo! Sports. The Suns have also received permission to interview Los Angeles Lakers assistant coach Steve Clifford, sources said. Bickerstaff (Detroit and Milwaukee) and Clifford (Charlotte and Milwaukee) have each interviewed for two other jobs in recent weeks. Yahoo! Sports

Houston Rockets, Los Angeles Lakers, Phoenix Suns, Coaching, JB Bickerstaff, Steve Clifford 

The Suns are also interested in speaking to CSKA Moscow assistant coach Quin Snyder, sources said. As a Lakers assistant last year, he received interest for the Charlotte and Orlando coaching jobs. Utah assistant coach Jeff Hornacek is also on the Suns' short list. Yahoo! Sports

Phoenix Suns, Coaching, Russia, Jeff Hornacek, Quin Snyder, CSKA Moscow 

Mark Berman: NBA sources confirm Nick Nurse, head coach of the Rio Grande Valley Vipers, is a candidate to become an ass't coach with the Toronto Raptors Twitter @MarkBermanFox26

Toronto Raptors, Coaching, D-League, Nick Nurse 

Duke coach Mike Krzyzewski will be returning as the head coach of USA Basketball for the 2016 Olympics, according to a source with direct knowledge of the situation. A formal announcement is expected in the next 48 hours. Krzyzewski led Team USA to gold medals in both the 2008 Beijing Olympics and the 2012 London Olympics. He had maintained for months that he would not return before reversing course in an interview with SI.com on Saturday. SI.com

Coaching, USA Basketball, Mike Krzyzewski 

Krzyzewski, 66, has a 62-1 record with USA Basketball, and his tenure will now be extended to coach in the 2014 FIBA World Championship in Madrid and the 2016 Olympics in Rio de Janeiro. USA Basketball chairman Jerry Colangelo has stayed confident since the end of the 2012 Olympics that he could persuade Krzyzewski to return. He waited until the end of Duke's season in March to court Krzyzewski. In an interview on Saturday, Colangelo said he would not begin contacting other candidates until Krzyzewski said no. SI.com

Coaching, Jerry Colangelo, USA Basketball, Spain, Mike Krzyzewski, Brazil, World Championship, Madrid, Rio de Janeiro 

Mike Monroe: Looks like Coach K just relegated #CoachPop to an afterthought re. Pop's dream of ever coaching Olympic team; Pop will be 71 in 2020 Twitter @Monroe_SA

Coaching, Gregg Popovich, USA Basketball, Mike Krzyzewski 

USA Basketball has scheduled a news conference on Thursday at Duke University, where Krzyzewski coaches. Krzyzewski had adamantly maintained the 2012 London Olympics were his last Olympics as coach. He said the prior to the Olympics, during the Olympics and as recently as February. But USA Basketball chairman Jerry Colangelo remained patient and gave Krzyzewski enough time to reconsider. USA Today Sports

Coaching, Jerry Colangelo, USA Basketball, Mike Krzyzewski 

LeBron James, who is a huge Coach K fan, had told me yesterday he wanted Coach K do what made him happy. “Coach K is a great coach,’’ LeBron said Tuesday about the likelihood Coach K would return for a third Olympics. “And USA would love to have him back. But it’s up to him… I want Coach K to be happy. Whatever he wants to do. Absolutely.’ Sulia

Miami Heat, LeBron James, Coaching, USA Basketball, Mike Krzyzewski 

Jackson said he would be open to taking a front office position in the NBA but is not actively pursuing that either as he considers offers that come his way. Jackson is currently working as an adviser to Detroit Pistons owner Tom Gores as he tries to find a new coach for his team. "I don't feel the ultimate urge to go back and be in management either. Mentoring is something that I feel is good. I'm doing pro-bono work for the Detroit owner and the Pistons organization, which is almost a conflict of interest when you think of the Bulls and Pistons in the '90s and the rivalry that we had. But they have a young owner that wants to do something different." ESPN.com

Chicago Bulls, Detroit Pistons, Phil Jackson, Coaching 

Although Jackson was interested in returning to the Lakers last season he said he wouldn't be interested in the job now even though Lakers governor Jeanie Buss, who he is engaged to, still thinks Jackson can coach. "I don't see myself coaching again, I really don't," Jackson said. "When I discussed this with Jeanie Buss, she said make sure you tell them that Jeanie still thinks you can coach even though you might say you're not going to coach again. Jeanie still thinks I can coach but I'm not going to go there." ESPN.com

Los Angeles Lakers, Phil Jackson, Coaching, Jeanie Buss 

“Well, the Brooklyn situation, I think, is a good situation,” Jackson said in an appearance on The Dan Patrick Show. And while Jackson has talked about an interest in potentially joining a team in a front office capacity, he said such a role never came up in his discussions with the Nets. “They wanted to know if I was interested [in coaching],” Jackson said, adding that he “didn’t even think about” the possibility of only coaching home games or some other timeshare arrangement to cut down on travel. New York Post

Brooklyn Nets, Phil Jackson, Coaching 

Jackson added that he has never had contact with the Clippers, who announced Tuesday they won’t be signing coach Vinny Del Negro to a new contract, about an opening, and also said that he was never contacted by the Knicks. “No,” Jackson said, adding he wasn’t disappointed about it. “They’re pretty locked into the people they’ve got there, and they have a nice rapport between [general manager Glen Grunwald] and [coach Mike] Woodson. “That Indiana connection goes back a long way. They think alike, they have a good idea of what they want to have. That’s pretty solid.” New York Post

Indiana Pacers, Los Angeles Clippers, New York Knicks, Phil Jackson, Coaching 

When Los Angeles Lakers general manager Mitch Kupchak called Phil Jackson to tell him the Lakers were hiring Mike D'Antoni instead of him as coach, he responded the only way he knew how. "I laughed," Jackson told ESPN's "Mike & Mike in the Morning" show Wednesday. "It was humorous to me when Mitch said that we think that Mike is a better coach for this group of guys." ESPN.com

Los Angeles Lakers, Phil Jackson, Mitch Kupchak, Coaching, Mike D'Antoni 

Jackson said he believes the Lakers made the decision largely based on catering to Steve Nash, their 39-year-old point guard who was limited to 50 games this season as he battled a variety of injuries. "I think it didn't happen because there was some concern how are we going to move in the right direction for this ballclub," Jackson said. "When Mitch gave me the call close to midnight on Sunday night right before I was going to give them an answer Monday morning and said, 'We've made a choice. We're going to hire Mike D'Antoni. We think he's the best coach for this group of guys.' My answer was, 'For Steve Nash, yes, I agree but for Dwight Howard, I'm not so sure.' "In the process of thinking about how they could best use the team I think they thought first and foremost about Steve Nash and how Steve Nash was going to fit inside of an offensive system that I coach. ... I think that was a concern for them." ESPN.com

Los Angeles Lakers, Phil Jackson, Steve Nash, Coaching, Mike D'Antoni