HoopsHype.com Rumors

Jerry Zgoda: Yes, former #Timberwolves player Sam MItchell will get an interview for coaching job. He and Larry Brown are last two on first-round list Twitter

Minnesota Timberwolves, Coaching, Sam Mitchell, Larry Brown 

Jerry Zgoda: Expect Sam Mitchell to interview Friday, Larry Brown next week for #Timberwolves head-coach job. Twitter

Minnesota Timberwolves, Coaching, Sam Mitchell, Larry Brown 

Jerry Zgoda: An update to an earlier tweet: Expect Sam Mitchell to interview with #Timberwolves either Friday or Saturday Twitter

Minnesota Timberwolves, Coaching, Sam Mitchell 

New Jersey Nets assistant coach Sam Mitchell and entrepreneur Marc Upshaw have been asked why they don’t just save themselves a drive and hold their annual camps closer to their homes in the Atlanta area. But Upshaw said there is something more important than convenience that keeps drawing them back to their hometown of Columbus each year and keeps their organization, the SaMarc Foundation, busy locally with events like this week’s fully booked seventh annual Sam Mitchell “Dream and Achieve” Youth Basketball Camp at Columbus State’s Lumpkin Center. “This is home,” Upshaw said. “Columbus is where we were both born and raised. A lot of kids who are participating in our foundation and what we have been involved with are underprivileged kids who are from the same area and the same environment we were from. We want to be able to give back to homes and to the kids and community there.” Ledger-Enquirer

New Jersey Nets, Coaching, Sam Mitchell 

“We tried to find people who have been successful in their respective fields and who have grown up here in Columbus,” Upshaw said. “A lot of people we knew when we were growing up spoke to us and inspired us, and now we actually want to bring in some doctors, lawyers, bank presidents and police officers to inspire the kids at the camp.” This year’s camp also will have a new offer: a trip for 16 campers to New York City. “We are going to select 16 of this year’s campers and fly them up to New York and give them a tour for the city for two days and try to expose them to some of the places they might never dreamed of going,” Upshaw said. “We want to show them something different.” Ledger-Enquirer

New Jersey Nets, Coaching, Sam Mitchell 

Adrian Wojnarowski: Minnesota fan favorite Sam Mitchell isn't on Kahn's list of potential candidates for coaching job, league sources say. Twitter

Minnesota Timberwolves, Coaching, Sam Mitchell 

Meanwhile, the other word circulating in basketball circles was that Sam Mitchell and Kelvin Sampson also have been among considerations to replace Rambis. Rambis' firing appears imminent. A little birdie says Mitchell, the former Timberwolves player who was the NBA's coach of the year in 2006-07 with the Toronto Raptors, had a lengthy, informal meeting with a top Wolves official after the season. St. Paul Pioneer Press

Minnesota Timberwolves, Coaching, Sam Mitchell, Bernie Bickerstaff, Kelvin Sampson, Kurt Rambis 

Word in basketball circles this morning is that Sam Mitchell and Kelvin Sampson are among strong considerations to replace Kurt Rambis as Minnesota Timberwolves coach. Rambis' firing appears imminent. St. Paul Pioneer Press

Minnesota Timberwolves, Coaching, Sam Mitchell, Kelvin Sampson 

A little birdie says Mitchell, the former Timberwolves player who was the NBA's coach of the year in 2006-07 with the Toronto Raptors, had a lengthy meeting with a top Wolves official after the season. St. Paul Pioneer Press

Minnesota Timberwolves, Coaching, Sam Mitchell 

A source close to the situation told 1500 ESPN former Toronto Raptors head coach and current New Jersey Nets assistant Sam Mitchell would jump at the opening, although he'd be a long shot to get the job. ESPN.com

Minnesota Timberwolves, Coaching, Sam Mitchell, Kurt Thomas 

Some other possibilities, based on discussions in coaching circles: Mike Woodson, Sam Mitchell, Darrell Walker, Mike Brown and Eddie Jordan. Charlotte Observer

Charlotte Bobcats, Mike Woodson, Coaching, Sam Mitchell, Mike Brown, Eddie Jordan, Darrell Walker 

Now that he looks back on it, recalling moments of utter confusion, the veteran Raptors point guard can chuckle about that most difficult of years. “There was a lot of stuff,” Calderon said Friday morning after the Raptors saw Mitchell and the New Jersey Nets for the first time this season. “At the beginning, I didn’t know what he wanted me to do . . . he always tried to talk to me and I couldn’t understand what he was saying. “Imagine on the court: I was the point guard, so I understand him as well (thinking) ‘If this guy can’t understand me, how is he going to play basketball?’ But it was fun and now I remember those moments and it was great.” Toronto Star

Toronto Raptors, Coaching, Jose Manuel Calderon, Sam Mitchell 

“I’ve got a lot of good moments with Sam, and bad moments, too,” Calderon joked. “Even my rookie year, it was tough with him. I think it was my English. He couldn’t understand me so it was kind of tough the whole year around. “After, it was a great relationship. I think I understood what he wanted me to do on the court and every day it was better. I have only good things to say about him. He was a good coach for me.” Toronto Star

Toronto Raptors, Coaching, Jose Manuel Calderon, Sam Mitchell 

We’re in Oklahoma City and after a morning shootaround, it’s time to walk up and see the memorial to the bombing and Sam Mitchell is on the walk with me, Stumpy and Eric and Jonesy, as I recall. It’s a moving experience and we’re all kind of silent when we’re walking around a place where such evil was perpetuated on innocent victims. Sam’s as choked up as any of us and as we’re walking out, he says something to the effect of: “Thanks for asking me to come; we need to be reminded that evil can grow anywhere in the world.” Toronto Star

Oklahoma City Thunder, Sam Mitchell 

“He was always very good to me,” Jay Triano said of Mitchell, who was fired Dec. 3, 2008 as the unproven Canadian was handed the job on an interim basis. “One of his goals always was to help us become better coaches and he wanted us all to become head coaches if we could. “He was very good at delegating and letting everyone be involved with real input.” Toronto Star

Toronto Raptors, Coaching, Sam Mitchell, Jay Triano 

But he also had very public clashes with some players — notably Rafer Alston and Jalen Rose — and was left to deal with the fallout of the trade of Vince Carter, the low-water mark in franchise history that set the team back years. “We went through a lot,” he said. “I leaned a lot about myself and I grew as a man and I learned a lot about the job of being an NBA head coach.” Toronto Star

Toronto Raptors, Coaching, Sam Mitchell, Jay Triano 

A rocky start to the 2008-09 season led to his dismissal, however, and Mitchell has been waiting for the opportunity to rejoin the NBA ranks since. He expects the transition back to be an easy one. “I’ve been in basketball 20-plus years, so I’m where I need to be,” Mitchell said. “This has just been like an extended vacation for me.” Macon Telegraph

Former NBA head coaches Sam Mitchell and Larry Krystkowiak have been named assistants for Avery Johnson with the New Jersey Nets. John Loyer, Popeye Jones and Tom Barrise were also named to Johnson's staff. "Avery has assembled a staff that brings a wealth of NBA experience to the sidelines," said new Nets general manager Billy King. "Their collective knowledge of the game, gained from both playing and coaching in the league, will be an invaluable asset to the head coach as well as our players." Toronto Sun

Sam Mitchell, the NBA's coach of the year in 2007, will join the New Jersey Nets as coach Avery Johnson's top assistant, according to league sources. Mitchell, who coached the Toronto Raptors from 2004-08, is returning to the league for the first time since his firing 17 games into the 2008-09 season. His hiring puts two of the last five Coaches of the Year on the Nets' bench, as Johnson won the award while coaching in Dallas in 2006. ESPN.com

New Jersey Nets, Avery Johnson, Coaching, Sam Mitchell