Lakers have pursued Dwane Casey and Jacque Vaughn as assistant coaches

The Lakers reportedly have two additional candidates for JJ Redick’s staff who have head coaching experience in the NBA.

As the 2024 NBA Draft takes place on Wednesday and Thursday, the Los Angeles Lakers are expected to explore at least one trade opportunity that could take them from being a solid playoff team to a championship-caliber one.

But at the same time, they still have the task of filling out the staff of new head coach JJ Redick.

Redick has said he wants at least a couple of former head coaches to be on his staff. Several names have come up as possible candidates, and according to NBA insider Marc Stein, two new names can be added to the list: Dwane Casey and Jacque Vaughn.

Via Marc Stein’s Substack:

“The Lakers are still searching for former head coaches to join JJ Redick’s coaching staff,” Stein wrote. “Among the names they are said to have pursued: Dwane Casey (who moved into a front office role in Detroit after coaching the Pistons for five seasons through 2022-23) and Jacque Vaughn (who was fired by the Nets after just a year-plus in charge in February).”

Casey first became a head coach during the 2005-06 season for the Minnesota Timberwolves. He’s best known for being at the helm of the Toronto Raptors for seven seasons beginning in the 2011-12 campaign.

Vaughn, meanwhile, was a head coach for the Orlando Magic and had two separate stints in that capacity with the Nets. He just happens to be a native of the Southland, as he attended John Muir High School in Pasadena.

NBA ref Bill Kennedy laughed at Dwane Casey for meaningless challenge during blowout loss

Sorry, coach. Bill Kennedy had to giggle about this one.

The Detroit Pistons have the worst record in the NBA, but the competitive juices are still flowing for head coach Dwane Casey.

The Pistons trailed the Hawks by more than 20 points during the fourth quarter when Atlanta’s De’Andre Hunter attempted to post up Detroit’s Jaden Ivey. He then lost control of the ball, which made its way out of bounds.

The ball was ruled as last touched by the Pistons, but Casey was seen irate on the sidelines. Casey challenged the call, which surprised Atlanta broadcasters Dominique Wilkins and Bob Rathbun.

“I’m going to say this,” Wilkins said. “What are you challenging for? I mean, for what? The game is over!”

Veteran NBA referee Bill Kennedy also seemed shocked. As he made an announcement on the mic, you could hear a bit of sarcasm in his voice as he explained that the previous play was being reviewed.

Rathbun speculated that even though the game was no longer within reach, Casey still wanted to prove a point and show that the out-of-bounds call was incorrect.

His instincts were correct and when Kennedy returned to the microphone, he announced that the coach’s challenge was successful. Kennedy held back his laughter as he informed the crowd that the ball would be rewarded to Detroit with 24 seconds on the shot clock.

With the ball back in their hands, the Pistons ran a play for Marvin Bagley III. The former No. 2 overall pick used the regained possession to post up on the left block, drive to the middle, and then miss a turnaround jumper.

Atlanta secured the rebound and gave the ball to Trae Young, who managed to connect on a difficult off-the-dribble 3-pointer. The Hawks went on to win, 129-107, and hold possession of the No. 8 seed in the Eastern Conference.

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Jaden Ivey pulling a Chris Webber by calling a phantom timeout cost the Pistons dearly against the Bulls

Poor Jaden Ivey

In basketball, there’s never really one play that absolutely makes or breaks a game — that includes the plays in the waning moments of the game.

Yes, obviously, some plays feel bigger than others. But each moment and action builds and builds until we get to the final result. So it’s hard to say that one play impacts the game more than another.

With that being said, Jaden Ivey’s Chris Webber moment for the Pistons on Wednesday night certainly didn’t help the Pistons against the Bulls.

Detroit had the ball with a chance to pull ahead or tie the Bulls with just under 10 seconds left in the game. Ivey is inbounding the ball for Detroit and the team has no timeouts left. The Pistons have to inbound the ball.

But Ivey doesn’t like what he sees, so he calls a timeout. Normally, that’s the right thing to do. But in this case? It cost his team dearly.

The Pistons didn’t have any timeouts.

Poor Jaden Ivey. You could tell immediately that he’d recognized his mistake after he made it.

The Bulls shot the technical free throw and got the ball back after this. The Pistons had to foul again. The Bulls made all 3 free throws to push the lead to 117-112.

That’s rough, man. It had to be a tough pill for Ivey to swallow knowing that this play put the game out of reach.

But, again, no one play makes or breaks a game. Dwane Casey said as much after the loss, writes ESPN.

“He panicked, but the game wasn’t won or lost on that one play…It was lost in the first quarter. With the laissez-faire approach we had defensively, they got whatever they wanted. It’s such a mountain to climb when you get behind in this league.”

And he’s right. Detroit gave up 38 points in the first quarter and then got outscored 32-18 in the second quarter. The Pistons played catch-up through the entire game and ti’s hard to come back from that.

Ivey shouldn’t hang his head on this. Though we rarely see this, it’s an honest mistake. And one that I’m almost certain won’t happen to him again.

Coaches around the league believe Sixers’ Tobias Harris is underrated

Coaches around the league believe that Philadelphia 76ers forward Tobias Harris is an underrated player.

NEW YORK–Philadelphia 76ers forward Tobias Harris remains one of the highest-paid players in the league, and he receives criticism for it, but he also remains one of the more productive players in the game.

He’s averaging 16.7 points and 6.2 rebounds while shooting 40.5% from deep and he continues to be a guy the Sixers can count on. Despite any role he’s given, Harris thrives in that situation.

He has gone from having to be the No. 2 scorer next to Joel Embiid to then having to be the No. 3 guy with the emergence of Tyrese Maxey and then he was bumped to No. 4 after the acquisition of James Harden. That could bother anybody, but Harris has accepted the change around him and he has excelled.

There are some coaches around the league who believe Harris is an underrated player as they have stated the following:

Pistons’ Dwane Casey blown away by James Harden’s sacrifice for Sixers

Detroit Pistons coach Dwane Casey is blown away by the sacrifice of James Harden for the Philadelphia 76ers to succeed.

PHILADELPHIA — When one thinks about Philadelphia 76ers star James Harden, they think buckets. They think about a ruthless scorer known as one of the best at putting the ball in the basket in NBA history.

He’s a three-time scoring champ who averaged 29.6 points per game during his nine seasons with the Houston Rockets. The guy knows how to score, and he has made it look easy at times.

However, he hasn’t been that guy for Philadelphia. Instead, he has been more of a distributor on the floor. He is averaging 10.3 assists to go along with 21.4 points as the offensive focus remains on Joel Embiid, who is currently the best scorer in the game. Then there’s Tobias Harris and Tyrese Maxey to take into account.

In a win over the Detroit Pistons on Wednesday, Harden had 15 points and eight assists. That’s not very Harden-like, but Philadelphia scored 113 points.

“I’ll tell you what James has done a great job being different than what he was at Houston,” said Pistons coach Dwane Casey. “Being the primary scorer, he’s really adapted. He and Joel have gotten a little rhythm going with each other. Understanding where Joel wants the ball, getting it to him at the right time, a little pocket pass, free-throw line ISO, ready to play off for him, and that’s something different that James has done over his career. So kudos to him.”

The Sixers have needed Harden to find the balance between scoring and passing for this team to succeed. They don’t need him to be the ruthless scorer he was in Houston, and he has been sacrificing his offense to help Embiid get the job done.

“It’s something he had to do to help this team and he’s sacrificing because he still can go out for 25 or 30 if he felt like he needed to,” Casey added. “To sacrifice for this team, you can just tell from outside looking in, I’m not in their locker room, but it looks like he’s sacrificing for the benefit of the team.”

Harden and the Sixers will take on the Los Angeles Clippers on Friday to end the seven-game homestand.

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Jaden Ivey healthy enough to play, being held out due to precaution

Omari Sanfoka II: On the NBA TV broadcast, Dwane Casey said they’re holding Jaden Ivey out of summer league out of precaution. “Both young men, he and Jalen, both could probably play if we wanted them to. We want them to have the rest of the summer …

What’s the buzz on Twitter?

Omari Sanfoka II @omarisankofa
On the NBA TV broadcast, Dwane Casey said they’re holding Jaden Ivey out of summer league out of precaution. “Both young men, he and Jalen, both could probably play if we wanted them to. We want them to have the rest of the summer to continue to work.” – 5:58 PM
Rod Beard @detnewsRodBeard
#Pistons‘ Cade Cunningham ‘excited’ to play with Jaden Ivey; Jalen Rose lauds rebuild: detroitnews.com/story/sports/n…9:28 AM
Tas Melas @TasMelas
Preparing my apology for doubting the Kings’ Keegan Murray over Jaden Ivey pick but when your history is this… pic.twitter.com/SI5Hkf9AZu10:32 PM

Cody Taylor @CodyTaylorNBA
A tough start for the rookie class with several notable players dealing with injuries: Jaden Ivey (ankle), Dyson Daniels (ankle), Jeremy Sochan (Covid), AJ Griffin (foot), Walker Kessler (toe), Patrick Baldwin Jr. (ankle), EJ Liddell (knee) and Ryan Rollins (foot). – 11:46 PM
Scott Agness @ScottAgness
Purdue product Jaden Ivey not in uniform today for the Pistons after rolling his ankle on Saturday. pic.twitter.com/fGwm0bbi5p9:17 PM

James Edwards III @JLEdwardsIII
Jaden Ivey (ankle) is OUT. Looks like Isiah Livers is too. And Saben Lee.
But … Jalen Duren is playing, so there’s that. – 9:04 PM
James Boyd @RomeovilleKid
Former #Purdue star and #Pistons lottery pick Jaden Ivey is OUT tonight. He sprained his right ankle in Detroit’s last game. – 9:04 PM
Rod Beard @detnewsRodBeard
No #Pistons Jaden Ivey tonight vs. #Pacers. – 9:03 PM
Mike Curtis @MikeACurtis2
Pistons will rest Jaden Ivey (right ankle) tonight against the Pacers, per @meghanmcpeak. – 9:02 PM

More on this storyline

 

Mike Curtis: #Pistons coach Dwane Casey says resting Jaden Ivey and Jalen Duren was for precautionary reasons. “Just a good turned ankle.” Casey said about Ivey. “He wanted to play, but the medical staff held him out.” -via Twitter @MikeACurtis2 / July 14, 2022