Posts Tagged ‘johnny davis’

Battier Narrows It To Handful Of Teams

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Free agent forward Shane Battier has narrowed his list of prospective teams from more than the original dozen or so to a handful of teams, including his current team, the Memphis Grizzlies, Miami, Indiana and Toronto, according to a league source. The 33-year-old, whose defensive skills still are among the league’s best, has been one of the most sought-after free agents since teams were allowed to discuss contract parameters last Wednesday.

The Heat would love to use Battier as a wing defender to help an already-strong defense get even better. The Raptors see Battier as a strong veteran presence for their young core, though they have been less willing than other teams to offer Battier a four-year deal. In addition, one of Toronto’s new assistant coaches, Johnny Davis, was on the Grizzlies’ bench last season, when Battier was re-acquired by the team that drafted him in 2001 from the Rockets.

Battier is expected to make a decision in the next few days. Training camps are scheduled to open next Friday.

Raptors coach Casey completes staff

New Toronto Raptors coach Dwane Casey has completed the bulk of his coaching staff, with former Raptors assistant and 76ers and Magic head coach Johnny Davis agreeing to join his staff as lead assistant coach.

Davis coached Allen Iverson in his rookie season in Philadelphia, but was fired after one season. He spent parts of two seasons as Orlando’s head coach, and was interim head coach in Memphis after Marc Iavaroni was fired two years ago, before the Grizzlies named Lionel Hollins head coach. Davis, a former teammate of Hollins’ on Portland’s world championship team in 1976, remained on Hollins’s staff.

Davis will join assistant Scott Roth, who had interviewed for an assistant’s job with the Lakers under new head coach Mike Brown, but will remain in Toronto. Roth had been at Golden State, Memphis and Dallas before joining the Raptors in 2009, and also has extensive international coaching experience. Assistants Eric Hughes and Micah Nori will also remain as holdovers from Jay Triano‘s staff. Triano was fired at the beginning of the month and Casey was officially hired to replace him last week. Toronto is also hiring longtime assistant coach and scout Tom Sterner to the staff. Sterner was with the 76ers last season and has been with the Warriors, Magic and Mavericks in almost three decades as an NBA coach.

The Grizzlies might lose another assistant coach. Dave Joerger was interviewed earlier this month to join Kevin McHale‘s staff in Houston, but a final decision has not yet been made.