Tag: Will Weaver

Interviews: Rockets react to opening win, big debuts by Green, Sengun

Jalen Green, KJ Martin, and summer league head coach Will Weaver shared their thoughts after Houston’s impressive win in Sunday’s opener.

Led by impressive performances from rookie guard Jalen Green and big man Alperen Sengun, the Houston Rockets defeated the Cleveland Cavaliers, 84-76 (box score), in Sunday’s opening game at the Las Vegas Summer League. Green and Sengun were selected at No. 2 and No. 16, respectively, in the first round of the 2021 NBA draft.

Green scored a game-high 23 points in 30 minutes, and he connected on a team-best 4-of-9 shots (44.4%) from 3-point range. Meanwhile, Sengun added 15 points, 15 rebounds and 4 blocks. Houston was plus-18 as a team in the 27 minutes played by the 19-year-old from Turkey. That plus/minus figure was the best of any player by either team.

Sengun even appeared to outplay fellow rookie center Evan Mobley (12 points, 5 rebounds), who was drafted by the Cavs at No. 3. Both of Houston’s prospects drew rave reviews from many who watched.

See below for highlights and postgame reaction via Sunday’s interviews with Green, summer league head coach Will Weaver, and second-year forward KJ Martin (17 points).

Houston resumes its Las Vegas schedule on Tuesday with a highly anticipated matchup versus Detroit and No. 1 overall draft pick Cade Cunningham. Tipoff is set for 8 p.m. Central.

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Stephen Silas explains focus areas for Rockets’ new coaching staff

Jeff Hornacek and Will Weaver are tilted to offense, while John Lucas, Rick Higgins, and DeSagana Diop are “tilted to the defensive side.”

When new Rockets head coach Stephen Silas was in Dallas, he was effectively the “offensive coordinator” for a group that finished the 2019-20 regular season as the most efficient offense in NBA history.

Now that he’s running his own team in Houston, though, it appears that Silas won’t be quite as rigid with his assistant coaching assignments.

While acknowledging that each coach will “tilt” in a certain direction, he won’t have anyone in a set coordinator role. Here’s how Silas explained the dynamic after Wednesday’s training camp practice:

Here, we don’t have coordinators. I have Jeff Hornacek and Will Weaver kind of tilted toward the offensive side. John Lucas, Rick Higgins, and DeSagana Diop are tilted to the defensive side. But I think it’s good for a coach’s growth to be able to do a little bit of everything.

DeSagana was running on a two-on-two, pick-and-roll drill today. Luc was down on the other end doing switching, pick and rolls. Everybody gets to touch a little bit of everything. There are certain focuses that I’m thinking about, those guys tilt either way, but they’re basketball coaches. They’re going to be allowed to do so.

Hornacek and Lucas are Houston’s most tenured assistants, with each having served as a head coach at multiple other NBA franchises. Thus, beyond their personal areas of expertise, it makes sense from an experience perspective to spread them out. It might also allow Hornacek and Lucas to serve in a mentor role to younger assistants such as the 36-year-old Weaver, 33-year-old Higgins, and 38-year-old Diop.

Silas said he would be getting together with his assistants on Thursday to map out lineups and plans for Houston’s upcoming preseason games, which begin on Friday night in Chicago.

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Rockets formally announce staff of assistant coaches for Stephen Silas

John Lucas, Jeff Hornacek, Will Weaver, Rick Higgins, and DeSagana Diop are officially assistants in Houston, according to the team.

The Houston Rockets on Monday announced that John Lucas, Jeff Hornacek, Will Weaver, Rick Higgins, and DeSagana Diop will join head coach Stephen Silas’ staff as assistant coaches.

Agreements with all five assistant coaches had been previously reported. However, with training camp for the 2020-21 season starting Tuesday morning at Toyota Center, each addition needed to be finalized.

Here’s how each coach is described (in this order) in the official press release, which was sent out by the team late Monday.

John Lucas:

Lucas, who was the first overall pick by Houston in the 1976 NBA Draft, re-joined the Rockets organization as their Director of Player Development prior to the 2016-17 season.  He was head coach of San Antonio and Philadelphia for stretches during the 1990’s and for Cleveland in 2001-02 and 2002-03.  Lucas is widely respected throughout the sports community for his ability as a mentor and has helped numerous athletes develop professionally and personally.

Jeff Hornacek:

Hornacek was a key member of the Utah Jazz during the mid-to-late 1990’s and for his career, shot 49.6% from the floor, 40.3% from 3-point range, and 87.7% from the foul line.  He joined the Jazz as a shooting coach in 2007 and became an assistant coach in 2010-11.  Hornacek was head coach of Phoenix for two and a half seasons from 2013-16 and for two seasons with New York from 2016-18.  Rockets forward P.J. Tucker played for Hornacek during his time with the Suns.

Will Weaver:

Weaver joins the Rockets after guiding the Sydney Kings of the NBL in Australia to the best record in the league and the championship game in his first season as head coach.  In 2018-19, he was named NBA G League Coach of the Year after leading the Long Island Nets to the championship game.  Weaver began his NBA career as the video coordinator for Philadelphia in 2013-14 before transitioning to the role of special assistant to the head coach for two seasons, followed by two seasons in that capacity for Brooklyn.

Rick Higgins:

Higgins spent the past two seasons with Orlando as associate coach/player development.  Prior to joining the Magic, he was with Charlotte for eight seasons, serving as a basketball operations assistant, video scout and coaching associate/video coordinator.  Higgins played collegiately for Cal Poly San Luis Obispo.  His father, Rod, played in the NBA for 13 seasons and is currently the vice president of basketball operations for the Atlanta Hawks.

DeSagana Diop:

Diop was the eighth overall pick in the 2001 NBA Draft and was a starter for Dallas during its run to the Finals in 2006.  Following a 12-season career, he joined the Texas Legends of the NBA Development League as a player development coach in 2014-15 before being promoted to assistant coach the following season.  Diop spent the past four seasons as a coaching associate on Quin Snyder’s staff in Utah.

With the complete coaching staff in place, Houston’s training camp will begin Tuesday with limited individual workouts and COVID-19 testing. Group activities will not commence until Sunday, Dec. 6.

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Rockets reportedly adding Will Weaver to new coaching staff

After coaching the Sydney Kings in Australia, Weaver was a finalist for multiple NBA head coaching vacancies this offseason.

The Rockets are adding Will Weaver to the staff of assistants for new head coach Stephen Silas, per Marc Stein of The New York Times.

Weaver, who most recently coached the Sydney Kings in Australia’s National Basketball League (NBL), was a finalist for the lead job in Oklahoma City (which ultimately went to Mark Daigneault). Shortly after the Thunder made their hire, Weaver committed to Houston.

Weaver’s Kings registered the NBL’s best overall record last season, along with the league’s top defensive rating.

Weaver coached Jae’Sean Tate in Sydney, and the Rockets are believed to have “serious interest” in signing Tate as a free agent this offseason. The presence of his former head coach probably can’t hurt those chances.

Here’s how ESPN’s Olgun Uluc describes Weaver’s unique bio:

Weaver was strongly considered for the New Orleans Pelicans’ head-coaching vacancy before Stan Van Gundy signed a four-year deal to lead the team.

Weaver, 36, was the runner-up for the National Basketball League’s Coach of the Year award after leading the Kings to a league-best 20-8 record. The Kings would end up withdrawing from the 2020 Grand Final series against the Perth Wildcats in March amid concerns about COVID-19.

Will Weaver emerges as serious candidate for Thunder head coaching job

The Thunder are the only NBA team without a head coach… But that will certainly change soon.

With news of the NBPA’s tentatively approving the league’s proposal to begin the 2020-21 season on Dec. 22, the league’s teams will convene for training camps on Dec. 1.

Hopefully, Sam Presti will have hired a head coach by then.

Perhaps the Sydney Kings’ Will Weaver will be his man.

Late Thursday night, after the news of the NBPA’s tentative approval was broken, Olgun Uluc of ESPN Australia reported that Weaver — the current head coach of Australia’s National Basketball League’s Kings — was in Oklahoma City in mandatory quarantine prior to an in-person interview for the team’s head coaching job.

It’s difficult to imagine that the Thunder would have Weaver travel to the United States from Australia and quarantine unless it had serious interest in hiring him for the job. Weaver, who served under Brett Brown in Philadelphia and Kenny Atkinson in Brooklyn, has emerged as a popular name among the ranks of up-and-coming NBA head coaches. He was believed to have been in the running for the Pelicans job before it went to Stan Van Gundy.

From Uluc:

Sydney Kings head coach Will Weaver is currently in quarantine in Oklahoma City as he continues to emerge as a candidate for the Thunder’s vacant head-coaching position, sources have told ESPN…

The Sydney Kings confirmed on Friday that Weaver was granted permission to travel to the United States to pursue NBA opportunities.

To this point, the Thunder organization has taken its time naming a successor for Billy Donovan. It is now the only team in the NBA that doesn’t have a head coach.

Now that the 2020-21 season is going to begin next month, though, it is imperative that the team do so quickly.

Don’t be surprised if Will Weaver ends up being tapped.

Sydney Kings coach Will Weaver compares LaMelo Ball to Zion Williamson, Anthony Davis

Sydney Kings head coach Will Weaver is the latest person associated with both the NBL and NBA to have high praise for Lamelo Ball.

One of the few people to have experience both with the NBA and with the NBL and, specifically, LaMelo Ball, is current Sydney Kings head coach Will Weaver. As a coach, Weaver spent time with the Philadelphia 76ers and Brooklyn Nets as an assistant before spending a season as the head coach of the Long Island Nets, a G League side.

In March of 2019, Weaver took over as the head coach of the Kings, leading the team to a 20-8 record and a spot in the Grand Finals. As a result, Weaver is uniquely positioned to give his take on Ball when it comes to the upcoming 2020 NBA Draft.

On the Wingspan Podcast, Weaver compared Ball to some big names in the league already (h/t Nets Daily).

“I think there are not a lot of people of LaMelo’s size and quickness that can play the game as he does at his age. Anthony Davis was really good as a senior in high school. Zion Williamson was really good as a senior in high school and that is what we are really looking at with LaMelo and this thing. Those guys tend to end up being really good when they are 24 year-olds, 28 year-olds, and 32 year-olds.”

Ball’s basketball IQ, size and skill does make him a special prospect at his age, though it’s lofty to compare him to the likes of Williamson and Anthony Davis. Realistically, given what Davis is doing in the NBA Finals and throughout the postseason, it’s lofty to even compare Williamson to him.

Nonetheless, Weaver’s point largely relies on how good those prospects were at a young age, which does apply to Ball. The way Ball has handled being in the national spotlight from a young age is a sign of his maturity as well, which is another positive.

Weaver is the second person associated with both the NBA and NBL to have strong, positive words on Ball with Andrew Bogut, who played under Weaver this season. Considering that few people would know the two leagues better than those two players, it’s a huge positive for Ball’s future that both have been complimentary of him.