Mike Dunlap Getting A Head Start

While most NBA head coaches are watching their summer league teams from the sidelines, the newly-hired Mike Dunlap is filling that role himself with his Charlotte Bobcats team. It’s a smart move for a first-year head coach, especially one who is going to have a team as young as Dunlap’s. Several members of the Bobcats’ summer league team figure to be major parts of Dunlap’s rotation, so it’s been important for him to instill his philosophies with them early on.

“It’s been great,” Dunlap said to HOOPSWORLD. “One, the most important thing is building trust with the players. Two is just to get the system in and the sooner the better. I don’t think we can delay at all. As soon as we get back off of this we’ve got to go back to work too and get ready for training camp.

“It’s been nice for our guys to understand that the gateway to our culture and success is defense.”

The opening game of of the Las Vegas Summer League gave Bobcats fans their first glimpse of Michael Kidd-Gilchrist, who they drafted second overall last month. The combination of him and second-year point guard Kemba Walker out on the floor was thoroughly impressive, especially defensively.

“I love their defensive potential,” Dunlap said. “I have to always go there and then secondly is they’re just good chemistry. They’re both really good people and I think that makes for some good plays.”

Unfortunately, Kidd-Gilchrist was only able to play in that first game. A sore left knee kept him out for the games that followed, but it gave center Byron Mullens a chance to take center stage.

“He’s been fine,” Dunlap said. “I think he puts a lot of pressure on himself when he misses shots so I’m just trying to take that away from him and I want him to post up more and he did that when he found trouble. He also did some good stuff on the board.”

The Bobcats won the bidding for former Dallas Mavericks center Brendan Haywood, who was amnestied by the Mavericks last week. One of the things they’ll be asking Haywood to do is help guide Mullens as they continue to groom him into their starting center.

“We know that Brendan likes to mentor,” Dunlap said. “He’s going to be great in our locker room. He’s a worker. He understands the game. He has a high IQ so we’re really happy to have him and you can’t replace his size. He’s bigger than seven feet.”

The Bobcats will also look to veteran point guard Ramon Sessions, who they signed to a two-year, $10 million contract this summer, to provide leadership to their younger players along with on-the-court production.

“He’s quick,” Dunlap said. “He can play 94 feet. He can help us with our run game. I just think he’s a tremendous athlete and also a good decision maker with the ball in his hands. He can pressure the ball. He’s our kind of guy.”

There were a lot of eyebrows raised when the Bobcats hired Dunlap. However, he’s already proving his worth with his work ethic, attention to detail and ability to connect with the players. Bobcats owner Michael Jordan has always been highly criticized, most of the time rightfully so, but early on it’s looking like he made a quality hire in Dunlap.

Chandler Ready To Make Playoff Push

The Denver Nuggets gave the Los Angeles Lakers fits in the first round of the Western Conference Playoffs this past season, pushing them to seven games before ultimately falling. The Lakers were without their starting small forward Metta World Peace for six of the seven games, but what wasn’t talked about enough was that the Nuggets were shorthanded as well.

Wilson Chandler, who re-signed with the team on March 18th after fulfilling his contract in China that he signed due to the lockout, only played in eight games. A torn labral in his left hip ended his season prematurely. Chandler recently got it surgically repaired and is looking at about three months before he can return to the court. Once he’s cleared, he’s coming back with high expectations.

“I have higher expectations than before with the guys being together for a while,” Chandler said to HOOPSWORLD. “We need to make a push in the playoffs, nothing less than that.

“I’m very excited. We have a lot of great young players we signed who are back. We have a great chance to do something special.”

One of the young Nuggets who re-signed is JaVale McGee, who will ink a four-year, $44 million deal with the Nuggets. Chandler believes McGee is a very important piece for the Nuggets and he’s glad to have him back.

“He’s very important,” Chandler said. “He’s athletic, blocks shots. We can just lob it up to him because he’s a great athlete. I think he’s very important to our team.”

Another player who could be key in the Nuggets push to make it deeper into the playoffs next year is guard Jordan Hamilton. Hamilton has been watched heavily by Ujiri and Nuggets head coach George Karl. Through four games he’s averaging 19 points, seven rebounds and two assists, impressing Chandler.

“I think we’re playing pretty good,” Chandler said of the Summer League team. “They’re playing hard; the guys are playing together. Jordan is playing great.”

With a re-signed McGee, improved Hamilton and a healthy Chandler the Nuggets will definitely be one of the rising teams in the West next season to keep an eye on.

Up Close With Patrick Patterson: The Houston Rockets are currently in a state of flux as they are as involved as any team in the saga centering around Orlando Magic big man Dwight Howard. They are currently loaded up on power forwards and the belief is that they’re inevitably going to have to move a few of them. Patterson hopes that isn’t the case, though. He actually wants to grow with all of them. He talks about that, the signing of point guard Jeremy Lin and more in this exclusive HOOPSWORLD interview.

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NBA Chats: Two chat wraps from earlier today are available from myself and Larry Coon. You can check the upcoming chat schedule here.

Mike Dunlap Getting A Head Start

While most NBA head coaches are watching their summer league teams from the sidelines, the newly-hired Mike Dunlap is filling that role himself. It’s a smart move for a first-year head coach, especially one who is going to have a team as young as Dunlap’s. Several members of the Bobcats summer league team figure to be major parts of Dunlap’s rotation, so it’s been important for him to instill his philosophies with them early on.

“It’s been great,” Dunlap said to HOOPSWORLD. “One, the most important thing is building trust with the players. Two is just to get the system in and the sooner the better. I don’t think we can delay at all. As soon as we get back off of this we’ve got to go back to work too and get ready for training camp.

“It’s been nice for our guys to understand that he gateway to our culture and success is defense.”

The opening game of Summer League gave Bobcats fans their first glimpse of Michael Kidd-Gilchrist, who they drafted second overall last month. The combination of him and second-year point guard Kemba Walker out on the floor was thoroughly impressive, especially defensively.

“I love their defensive potential,” Dunlap said. “I have to always go there and then secondly is they’re just good chemistry. They’re both really good people and I think that makes for some good plays.”

Unfortunately Kidd-Gilchrist was only able to play in that first game. A sore left knee kept him out for the games that followed, but it gave center Byron Mullens a chance to take center stage.

“He’s been fine,” Dunlap said. “I think he puts a lot of pressure on himself when he misses shots so I’m just trying to take that away from him and second I want him to post up more and he did that when he found trouble. He also did some good stuff on the board.”

The Bobcats won the bidding for former Dallas Mavericks center Brendan Haywood, who was amnestied by the club last week. One of the things they’ll be asking Brendan to do is help guide Mullens as they continue to groom him into their starting center.

“We know that Brendan likes to mentor,” Dunlap said. “He’s going to be great in our locker room. He’s a worker. He understands the game. He has a high IQ so we’re really happy to have him and you can’t replace his size. He’s bigger than seven feet.”

The Bobcats will also look to veteran point guard Ramon Sessions, who they signed to a two-year $10 million contract this summer, to provide leadership to their younger players along with on-the-court production.

“He’s quick,” Dunlap said. “He can play 94 feet. He can help us with our run game. I just think he’s a tremendous athlete and also a good decision maker with the ball in his hands. He can pressure the ball. He’s our kind of guy.”

There were a lot of eyebrows raised when the Bobcats hired Dunlap. However, he’s already proving his worth with his work ethic, attention to detail and ability to connect with the players. Bobcats owner Michael Jordan has always been highly criticized, most of the time rightfully so, but early on it’s looking like he made a quality hire in Dunlap.

Chandler Ready To Make Playoff Push

The Denver Nuggets gave the Los Angeles Lakers fits in the first round of the Western Conference Playoffs this past season, pushing them to seven games before ultimately falling. The Lakers were without their starting small forward Metta World Peace for six of the seven games, but what wasn’t talked about enough was that the Nuggets were shorthanded as well.

Wilson Chandler, who re-signed with the team on March 18^th after fulfilling his contract in China that he signed due to the lockout, only played in eight games. A torn labral in his left hip ended his season prematurely. Chandler recently got it surgically repaired and is looking at about three months before he can return to the court. Once he’s cleared he’s coming back with high expectations.

“I have higher expectations as before with the guys being together for a while,” Chandler said to HOOPSWORLD. “We need to make a push in the playoffs, nothing less than that.

“I’m very excited. We have a lot of great young players we signed who are back. We have a great chance to do something special.”

One of the young Nuggets who has yet to be re-signed is restricted free agent JaVale McGee. Nuggets general manager Masai Ujiri told HOOPSWORLD that he feels good about where negotiations are at, but nothing has been agreed to by both parties just yet. Chandler is hoping to see that resolved soon.

“He’s very important,” Chandler said. “He’s athletic, blocks shots. We can just lob it up to him because he’s a great athlete. I think he’s very important to our team.”

Another player who could be key in the Nuggets push to make it deeper into the playoffs next year is guard Jordan Hamilton. Hamilton has been watched heavily by Ujiri and Nuggets head coach George Karl. Through four games he’s averaging 19 points, seven rebounds and two assists, impressing Chandler.

“I think we’re playing pretty good,” Chandler said of the Summer League team. “They’re playing hard; the guys are playing together. Jordan is playing great.”

With a re-signed McGee, and improved Hamilton and a healthy Chandler the Nuggets will definitely be one of the rising teams in the West next season to keep an eye on.

Up Close With Patrick Patterson: The Houston Rockets are currently in a state of flux as they are as involved as any team in the saga centering around Orlando Magic big man Dwight Howard. They are currently loaded up on power forwards and the belief is that they’re inevitably going to have to move a few of them. Patterson hopes that isn’t the case, though. He actually wants to grow with all of them. He talks about that, the signing of point guard Jeremy Lin and more in this exclusive HOOPSWORLD interview.