HoopsHype.com Rumors

After the Bucks bowed out of of the playoffs to Miami, I asked current Heat and former Bucks guard Ray Allen which Bucks impressed him. He immediately cited Mike Dunleavy. Apparently, Dunleavy’s fine playoff showing after a quality regular-season performance has impressed some other NBA folks as well. I’m hearing several teams are keenly interested in signing the soon-to-be unrestricted free-agent. Racine Journal-Times

Milwaukee Bucks, Free Agency, Mike Dunleavy 

Mike Dunleavy: Any intimation that Billy [King] and I have had any kind of contact is totally off base. As far as I know the only person that the Nets have contacted has been Phil Jackson and everybody in the world understands that. So anything other than that is not true. HallPass Media

Brooklyn Nets, Phil Jackson, Coaching, Mike Dunleavy 

Mike Dunleavy: Anybody from Brooklyn would want to coach the Brooklyn Nets. It's a great situation: They have a great owner, great management, they are very committed to where they want to go, and that is to win a championship. HallPass Media

Brooklyn Nets, Coaching, Mike Dunleavy 

Net Daily: #Nets insider calls report of Nets interest in Mike Dunleavy Sr. "total fabrication ... don't believe it" netsdaily.com/2013/5/6/43071… Twitter @NetsDaily

Brooklyn Nets, Coaching, Mike Dunleavy 

Net Daily: Insider says of Dunleavy, "he is not a candidate." Twitter @NetsDaily

Brooklyn Nets, Coaching, Mike Dunleavy 

Three hours later, after the Nets insider's denial to NetsDaily was published, the story changed, with a new focus on the Nets' pursuit of Phil Jackson ... and a new headline. In the later edition, Isola and Bondy reported: NetsDaily

Brooklyn Nets, Phil Jackson, Coaching, Mike Dunleavy 

Specifically, the insider's email to NetsDaily read, "Don't believe the Daily News story on Dunleavy. Billy never talked to him and has never played golf with him. Story is total fabrication ... he is not a candidate." NetsDaily

Brooklyn Nets, Phil Jackson, Coaching, Mike Dunleavy 

Dunleavy, Jackson, Doc Rivers, Brian Shaw, Larry Brown, Jerry Sloan and maybe dozen other names have been floated in the Nets coaching search. The insider said only Jackson had been contacted and the Nets are still doing background checks only on the other candidates, but reiterated Dunleavy was never considered. NetsDaily

Boston Celtics, Brooklyn Nets, Doc Rivers, Phil Jackson, Coaching, Brian Shaw, Mike Dunleavy, Jerry Sloan, Larry Brown 

Long before the Nets contacted Phil Jackson on Monday, GM Billy King GM spoke with Brooklyn product Mike Dunleavy about taking over for P.J. Carlesimo. A source familiar with the situation told the Daily News that Dunleavy has emerged as a real darkhorse in a race with higher-profile names, which isn’t a surprise considering his relationship with King. “He may be the leading candidate in Billy King’s mind,” said the source. New York Daily News

Brooklyn Nets, Phil Jackson, Coaching, Mike Dunleavy, Billy King 

According to the source, conversations about the Brooklyn job occurred during the season between Dunleavy and King, long before the Nets’ uninspiring Game 7 defeat in the first round of the playoffs. Dunleavy's name initially emerged in December, and gained momentum because of his Brooklyn roots as a star for Nazareth HS in the early ’70s. A day after Avery Johnson was fired, Dunleavy was eager to profess his desire to lead the Nets. New York Daily News

Brooklyn Nets, Coaching, Mike Dunleavy 

Sources indicate Taylor was also approached by former Memphis owner Michael Heisley, St. Louis businessman Dr. Richard Chaifetz and a group led by former coach Mike Dunleavy Sr. But none expressed a strong desire to keep the team in Minnesota long-term, sources said. 1500 ESPN

Minnesota Timberwolves, Mike Dunleavy, Michael Heisley, Owners, Richard Chaifetz 

"My contract's up so I'm just going to have to figure out where that leaves me," Dunleavy said. "Honestly I haven't given a lot of thought to it. "I like being here; I grew up here. I signed as a free agent here. I'm willing to come back. I've got to talk to the team and see what they want to do and go from there." Milwaukee Journal-Sentinel

Milwaukee Bucks, Free Agency, Mike Dunleavy 

Mike Dunleavy told a great story about calling best friends Shane Battier and pretending to be Coach K. Sulia

Miami Heat, Milwaukee Bucks, Mike Dunleavy, Shane Battier 

“There’s an app you can get that goes right to somebody’s voice mail so you don’t have to let it ring,’’ Dunleavy said. “I called him up a few times pretending I was Coach K and wanted him to do all sorts of stupid stuff… I told him stuff like that shoe endorser, the Chinese company, is not cutting it. I told him to needs to do stuff on the court, like he’s shooting too many 3-pointers or stop taking charges, just to mess with him.’’ Sulia

Miami Heat, Milwaukee Bucks, Mike Dunleavy, Shane Battier 

The front office turned sour on Del Negro earlier this season when he chatted with Celtics' boss Danny Ainge about a deal to acquire Kevin Garnett. They felt it wasn't his place to do so. Hard feelings remain. Del Negro also isn't as sold on keeping DeAndre Jordan as the front office is, and so there are grounds for continued conflict. If I knew the name of the team's wallflower general manager, I would tell you. Andy Roeser remains Donald Sterling's top aide, but he's lost much of his influence now that Sterling's son-in-law, Eric Miller, has joined the team in training as possibly Sterling's heir apparent. Too early to say if we're talking upgrade. Mike Dunleavy used to work around the front office, bypassing Elgin Baylor to get things done. But he was more the politician, while Del Negro isn't one for sweet talk. Los Angeles Times

Boston Celtics, Los Angeles Clippers, Danny Ainge, Vinny Del Negro, Mike Dunleavy, Donald Sterling, Elgin Baylor, Andy Roeser 

Mike Dunleavy says LeBron is "on a different planet right now'' and says he's the MVP. "He's on a different planet right now,'' Dunleavy said of James. "He's got compete control of the game whenever he wants it. He's tough to stop. But you have to give it to the guy, he trusts his teammates. He keeps coming to them, and they eventually knock the shots down. They're a heck of a team, and that's why he's the MVP.'' Sulia

Miami Heat, Milwaukee Bucks, LeBron James, Mike Dunleavy 

If the teams meet in the playoffs, the Bucks might be hoping for a really cold spell in Milwaukee. After all, Bucks forward Mike Dunleavy cited weather as one reason why his team has had some success against the Heat. “It’s probably climate related,’’ Dunleavy said. “They come up there in January, February. It’s cold, gray and you probably don’t get up for the games as much. And we come down here, it’s nice weather and the sun and the silicone and all that. We probably get up for it a little bit more. But I think spring, playoffs; that’s probably a wash. We don’t have that advantage anymore (of very cold weather in Milwaukee). So we’ll see how it goes.’’ FOXSports Florida

Miami Heat, Milwaukee Bucks, Mike Dunleavy 

DeMarcus Cousins describes confrontation with Mike Dunleavy Jr. during #SacKings loss to the Bucks on Sunday: "Actually, I was cool about it because I really didn't know if he did it on purpose," Cousins said, describing the incident after practice today. "And that's what I asked him, I was like 'Was that on purpose?' and his response was 'What if it was? What you gon' do about it?'. And that's what, you know, kind of got me." Was the elbow he threw at Dunleavy on the ensuing Bucks' possession intentional? "It really wasn't," said Cousins. "I mean, if you see the replay, it's really not that hard as he acted out. But, it really wasn't." Sulia

Milwaukee Bucks, Sacramento Kings, DeMarcus Cousins, Mike Dunleavy 

Cousins saw the replay of the shot he took the leg. After watching it, Cousins concluded Dunleavy intentionally tried to undercut him. Sulia

Milwaukee Bucks, Sacramento Kings, DeMarcus Cousins, Mike Dunleavy 

Cousins was the story in this one, scoring 24 points on 10-for-12 shooting and grabbing 10 rebounds before getting booted. His fourth ejection of the season came after he felt he was wronged after Mike Dunleavy undercut him on a play late in the third quarter. With just over three minutes remaining in the period and following a timeout and double technical, Cousins sent an elbow to Dunleavy’s head as the two tangled in the post on the ensuing Bucks’ possession. Cousins was unstoppable until he let his emotions get the best of him. Cowbell Kingdom

Milwaukee Bucks, Sacramento Kings, DeMarcus Cousins, Mike Dunleavy