AP Source: Casspi agrees to terms with Wolves (Sports Betting News)

Detroit Pistons owner Tom Gores will meet with the finalists for his team’s head coach opening this week. The Pistons have identified three finalists.

Gores will meet with Kevin Ollie, Jarron Collins and Charles Lee. Ollie and Collins were long-time NBA players, while Lee has been an assistant coach at both the NCAA and NBA levels.

Ollie played for 11 teams in his 14-year NBA career. He then coached at the University of Connecticut before moving to lead the coaching operations for Overtime Elite.

Collins played for four teams over his 10-year NBA career. He’s been an assistant coach for nine seasons with the Golden State Warriors and New Orleans Pelicans.

Lee coached at his alma mater Bucknell after his playing career ended. He’s been an assistant coach under Mike Budenholzer with both the Atlanta Hawks and the Milwaukee Bucks for the last nine years.

The Dallas Mavericks are embarking on a critical season after missing the playoffs and play-in altogether last season. The decision from the Mavericks to demote longtime athletic trainer Casey Smith has created an extra layer of uncertainty to their situation.

“There’s weird stuff going on with the Mavericks as far as not involving the roster, [but] involving the organization,” said Tim MacMahon on Friday’s Hoop Collective Podcast. “This banishment of Casey Smith, who is probably the most respected athletic trainer in the NBA. [He] was overseeing that whole group, basically their whole medical group. He wan an essential part of the front office. Put it this way, when the Mavericks sent a contingent to Slovenia for Luka’s supermax press conference, Casey Smith was there. He’s been on the bench for 20 years. He’s not going to be on the bench this year. He’s not going to be a traveler. It is not his decision.

“There’s a lot of people… There’s a combination of people being pissed and people being concerned with the Mavericks’ organization about that.

“I’m not going to get into why that decision was made because I honestly haven’t gotten a straight answer. I’ve gotten a lot of second hand answers. And I’ve gotten two kind of different second hand answers, neither of which are great.

“And then you also have Scott Tomlin who has been there forever. By the way, Casey Smith and Scott Tomlin are like Dirk’s best friends. Scott Tomlin, longtime PR guy, is actually going to work for Dirk. He’s going to be the executive director of Dirk’s foundation. Leaving right after they get home from this trip. A decision made in the wake of Casey Smith’s reassignment. I don’t think that decision is made, especially with this timing, if everything is hunky dory I’ll put it to you like that.

“There’s a lot of weirdness going on with this organization right now.”