Coaching career
Turner later moved to the NBA, with the Sacramento Kings (six years) and the Portland Trail Blazers (four). In 2007, he rejoined Rick Adelman's staff at the Houston Rockets. [1]
In 2008, Turner was interviewed twice [2] for the Phoenix Suns' head coach position that became vacant when Mike D'Antoni left, [1] but was not hired. [3]
In 2009, Turner was interviewed for the vacant Minnesota Timberwolves head coach position. [4] Turner, Mark Jackson, and Los Angeles Lakers assistant Kurt Rambis were the three finalists for the job, [5] and Rambis was the Wolves' ultimate choice. [6] [7]
In 2010, Turner was interviewed for both the Philadelphia 76ers' [8] and the Chicago Bulls' vacant head coaching positions. [7] They were eventually taken by Doug Collins and Tom Thibodeau, respectively. [9] Also in 2010, the Rockets allowed Turner to talk to the L.A. Clippers about its vacant head coaching job. [9]
In 2011, Turner was interviewed for a defensive coordinator position for the Phoenix Suns along with the Milwaukee Bucks' coordinator Jim Boylan, the San Antonio Spurs' coordinator Don Newman, and the Golden State Warriors' coordinator Pete Myers. [10] Turner signed a two-year contract, becoming the Suns' fifth assistant head coach, with Bill Cartwright, Dan Majerle, Igor Kokoškov, and Noel Gillespie.
In 2012, Turner was interviewed for the Portland Trail Blazers' head coach position. [11] He, Terry Stotts, Steve Clifford, and then-interim coach Kaleb Canales were the four finalists for the job. [12] Ultimately, Turner was not hired. [13] In January 2013, he resigned from his position with Phoenix. In September 2013, the Memphis Grizzlies hired him as an assistant coach. [14]
In 2016, Turner rejoined the Sacramento Kings as an assistant coach. [15] In 2019, he returned to the Rockets as the lead assistant coach who was added to focus on running defense—former assistant Jeff Bzdelik’s role. [16]
On August 31, 2021, Turner joined the Minnesota Timberwolves as an assistant coach. [17]
The Minnesota Timberwolves are an American professional basketball team based in Minneapolis. The Timberwolves compete in the National Basketball Association (NBA) as a member of the Northwest Division of the Western Conference. The team was founded in 1989. Its majority owner is Glen Taylor, who also owns the WNBA's Minnesota Lynx. Currently, Taylor is in a legal battle over ownership of the team with Alex Rodriguez, Marc Lore, and Michael Bloomberg. The Timberwolves play their home games at Target Center, their home since 1990.
Terry Porter is an American former college basketball coach and former player in the National Basketball Association (NBA). He was most recently the head men's basketball coach at the University of Portland. A native of Wisconsin, he played college basketball at the University of Wisconsin–Stevens Point before being drafted 24th by the Portland Trail Blazers in the 1985 NBA draft. In Portland, he played ten seasons with two All-Star Game appearances. Porter spent 17 years in the NBA as a player. Following his retirement as a player in 2002, he began coaching in the league. Porter has twice been a head coach, first with his hometown Milwaukee Bucks and then with the Phoenix Suns.
Darrell Kurt Rambis is a Greek-American former professional basketball player and coach who is a senior basketball adviser for the Los Angeles Lakers of the National Basketball Association (NBA). As a player, he won four NBA championships while playing power forward for the Lakers. Rambis was a key member of the Showtime era Lakers and was extremely popular for his hard-nosed blue collar play. With his trademark black horn-rimmed glasses, Rambis complemented the flashy Hollywood style of the Showtime era Lakers.
David Vanterpool is an American professional basketball coach and former player. He currently serves as an assistant coach for the Washington Wizards of the National Basketball Association (NBA). During his playing career, he earned an All-EuroLeague Second Team selection during the 2003–04 season, while playing with Montepaschi Siena.
The 1980 NBA draft was the 34th annual draft of the National Basketball Association (NBA). The draft was held on June 10, 1980, at the Sheraton Centre Hotel & Towers, before the 1980–81 season. In this draft, 23 NBA teams took turns selecting amateur U.S. college basketball players and other eligible players, including international players. The first two picks in the draft belonged to the teams that finished last in each conference, with the order determined by a coin flip. The Boston Celtics, who obtained the Detroit Pistons' first-round pick in a trade, won the coin flip and were awarded the first overall pick, while the Utah Jazz were awarded the second pick. The Celtics then traded the first pick to the Golden State Warriors before the draft. The remaining first-round picks and the subsequent rounds were assigned to teams in reverse order of their win–loss record in the previous season. An expansion franchise, the Dallas Mavericks, took part in the NBA Draft for the first time and were assigned the eleventh pick in each round. A player who had finished his four-year college eligibility was automatically eligible for selection. Before the draft, five college underclassmen announced that they would leave college early and would be eligible for selection. The draft consisted of 10 rounds comprising the selection of 214 players. This draft has the distinction of being the first NBA Draft to be televised.
Terry Linn Stotts is an American former professional basketball player and coach who is the top assistant coach for the Golden State Warriors of the National Basketball Association (NBA). He previously served as head coach of the Portland Trail Blazers of the National Basketball Association (NBA) from 2012 to 2021 before most recently spending an offseason as an assistant coach for the Milwaukee Bucks of the National Basketball Association (NBA) in 2023.
Richard Leonard Adelman is an American former professional basketball player and coach. He coached 23 seasons in the National Basketball Association (NBA). Adelman served as head coach of the Portland Trail Blazers, Golden State Warriors, Sacramento Kings, Houston Rockets and Minnesota Timberwolves. He was inducted into the Naismith Basketball Hall of Fame in the class of 2021.
Robert "Rob" Babcock was an American basketball executive. He served as a Vice President of Basketball Operations with the Minnesota Timberwolves of the NBA, and also as general manager of the Toronto Raptors from 2004 to 2006.
Sidney Rochell Lowe is an American former basketball player and current assistant coach for the Detroit Pistons of the National Basketball Association (NBA). Lowe played college basketball and served as the head coach at North Carolina State University.
Corey Wayne Brewer is an American former professional basketball player who serves as an assistant coach for the New Orleans Pelicans. He played college basketball for the Florida Gators, winning back-to-back NCAA national championships in 2006 and 2007. He was named Most Outstanding Player of the 2007 NCAA tournament.
Jerry Lee Sichting is an American basketball coach and retired player of the National Basketball Association (NBA).
Theodore Roosevelt Dunn is an American former professional basketball player who was most recently an assistant coach for the Houston Rockets of the National Basketball Association (NBA).
Chris Finch is an American professional basketball coach and former player who is the head coach of the Minnesota Timberwolves of the National Basketball Association (NBA). He was previously an assistant coach for the Houston Rockets, Denver Nuggets, New Orleans Pelicans, and Toronto Raptors.
Victor Kaleb Canales is an American basketball coach who serves as an assistant coach for the Texas Legends of the NBA G League.
The 2011–12 NBA season was the 66th season of the National Basketball Association (NBA), which began with the signing of a new collective bargaining agreement (CBA) between the owners of the 30 NBA teams and the NBA's players. The previous CBA, which was ratified in 2005, expired at 12:01 am EDT on July 1, 2011, resulting in a lockout. With the new deal in place, the regular season was shortened from the normal 82 games per team to 66, because of nearly two months of inactivity. This was the league's first season since 1991–92 without Shaquille O'Neal, who announced his retirement on June 1, 2011, via social media. A 4-time champion, O'Neal played 19 years for the Orlando Magic, Los Angeles Lakers, Miami Heat, Phoenix Suns, Cleveland Cavaliers, and Boston Celtics. The season began on Christmas Day 2011, and ended on April 26, 2012. The playoffs started on April 28 and ended on June 21 when the Miami Heat defeated the Oklahoma City Thunder in Game 5 of their series, 121–106, winning the Finals, 4–1 and to capture the franchise's second NBA title. LeBron James was named both the season MVP and the NBA Finals MVP. The NBA regular season would not begin again in December until the 2020–21 NBA season.
Patrick Zipfel is an American basketball coach and former college athletics director. He is currently an assistant coach and advance scout for the Phoenix Suns of the National Basketball Association (NBA). The Philadelphia native was a part of the Suns' Western Conference Championship title and NBA Finals run in 2021. Zipfel worked as assistant coach/advance scout for the Chicago Bulls(NBA)as well as the Minnesota Timberwolves. In October 2015, Zipfel accepted an interim coaching position at Mansfield University, located in Mansfield, Pennsylvania to help restore the program.
The 2012–13 Phoenix Suns season was the organization's 45th season in the National Basketball Association. This season was the first since the 2004–05 season that the Suns were without star point guard and former two-time MVP Steve Nash after Nash was sign-and-traded to the rival Los Angeles Lakers. Another fan favorite, Grant Hill, also left for Los Angeles in this season, but he would sign with the Los Angeles Clippers. By technicality, the player who held the most playing experience for the Suns this season was Jermaine O'Neal.
